I love the HEMI engine. I've been playing around with them since my early teens. There were articles in every rod book in print, mostly because of Don Garlits and a few others in drag racing. One day in 1965 while touring a wrecking yard in Port Colborne Ontario, Canada I finally came face to engine with a HEMI engine! I knew, just looking at its potent form, this was THE ENGINE!! I've owned over 24 since then & I still own seven hemi engines. Two gen II hemis, one a 426 bored to 440 w/Hillborn Injection and my favorite, a 426 bored to 4.375 with a 4.5 stroker crank, H beam rods, 6-71 BDS blower, Enderle bug catcher and all the trimmings. The other 5 Hemis are 2 Dodge Red Ram 315s', 2 Dodge 270s' and a 241 Dodge Super Red Ram. I also have a 315 Poly which is being converted to a Hemi. What I would like to pass on to you fellow HEMI afficianados is a few tricks I've picked up playing with these engines.( #1, don't spend too much coin trying to make the 241-270 engines into a drag engine.( #2 The only parts that can be interchaged are the crank & heads. Unless you are a machinist even this can be a real problem with the cranks fitting & clearance. The heads will fit easily & give a bit of comp boost. (#3, The 315 is the perfect engine $ wise to build up. The 315 is a taller block and therefore is better built to stroke. Don't buy a crank!! Just have yours offset ground so you end up with 2" rod journals(gives a .250 stroke increase), bore the block .125(they can all take it easily) and plane the heads .060 to .100 max depending on the comp ratio you are looking for. Use a flat top piston = better flame propagation= more HP. Aftermarket rods up to 6.75" longer are available, can be machined narrower for width & will give the best rod/stroke ratio. Just so happens there is a Chev 2" journal rod the Nascar guys use. I was told that 292 Chev 6 cyl rods also work quite nicely. There are commercially available pistons for this engine. You will now end up with a 375 cu. in. light weight Dodge Hemi & anywhere from 300 to 425HP depending on the intake you use. A single 650-750 cfm carb is best for the street, multi carb set ups are available ($$$$$) for street & strip. Happy Rodding
Orignal From: HEMIS FOR EVER The Dodge 315
No comments:
Post a Comment