HEMIs aint good???

I was working in my friends dads garage in the late 60's and early 70's. I worked on most all types of cars back then even a 70 Barracuda with a hemi and 4spd. I was very much tuned into the local street seen back then and was driving a 67 Pontiac LeMans with a 350 I swapped in.

A lot of what this writer states is true inspite of the anti mopar bias.

At the time the general build quality of mopars was worse than Ford or GM.

The street guys all lusted after the hemi but an $800 option on a $3000 car was just to big a nut to swallow for most especially when a 440 was almost on par and was more than a match for the GM and Ford offerings. Plus those that could afford the hemi weren't interested in dealing with solid lifters and the general fussiness of the engine.

As I mentioned we had a customer that purchased a new 70 Barracuda with a hemi and a 4spd. He was (to me at the time anyway) older and wasn't into street racing but like fast cars. He traded the car in in about 9 months for a new 440 Charger just because he was always having to bring it in to have the carbs tweaked and lifters adjusted.

The winged cars fetch huge dollars now because of they are rare. When they were new the dealers hated the car because if they were given one as part of the floor stock they were stuck with it. Many of these cars were converted back to standard Charges or Road Runners just so they could get them off the lot.