WIW 1954 331 Chrysler Hemi

matthon said

I know enough, I think, to know a 1954 331 Hemi is a good piece.
The bellhousing is not cast into the block, although my understanding is the ones with the cast in bellhousing, with a readily available adapter, can accept a Muncie 4 speed.

It is stamped C542–8-9016, and apparently from a New Yorker, and 'runs good.'

I'm not really looking for one, but they seem to pop up regularly.

What say you, WIW?

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I reckon you know that the 54 331 Chrysler had better heads than the 51-53. Also, it had Chrysler's first four barrel (in the New Yorker Deluxe). And 235 hp, which at the time was the highest in the industry. That got eclipsed pretty quickly, though, not the least by next year's Chrysler 300, which had 300 hp from the same 331 cubic inches, with two four barrels, higher CR and a hot cam. And then 375 hp only two years after that (with 392 cubes). The "horsepower race." Heady times for those, like my Dad, who grew up in the Depression with cars that mostly had top speeds of maybe 80-85 mph.

Here's my sister and me in front of Dad's 52 DeSoto Firedome, 276 hemi bored to 291, dual two barrels, heads milled .100, dual exhaust, and Mallory Magspark ignition. He traded that on a 56 Coronet D500, 315 hemi and 260 hp. Twelve years later, he bought a 67 Hemi Charger.