330 hemi?

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zigs said:
Desoto was not a preferred engine because of the heads, water jackets were too restrictive. most guys trade out for dodge or chrysler heads. the 330 is very doable but as stated before very heavy. I wouldn't consider it if you like long cruises but for show and go and the navelty if thats what youwant go for it. PRACTICAL no but nothing in this hobby is. Expect to shell out some cash. It will be about twice the amount of a standard build. There is alot of info on the net for old Hemis. Just look up old hemis. Bob Walker at Hot Heads is a great help. I bought Tex Smiths book on old hemis. There is a site called The Hemi. com. If you deside to build find someone that has been around them for awhile.
This is my 354 punch out to a 371 in my 68 Dart before started redoing the car. theres alot of support out there don't be afraid to ask questions and dare to be different. Good luck
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How the heck did you shoe horn that thing in??
 
dart4forte said:
How the heck did you shoe horn that thing in??
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Carefully. Actually I had to get rid of the steering knuckle. I cut the steering column just out side the fire wall and ran to joints down between the fire wall and the engine. I used a rack and pinion from a Rampage which lines up just behind the center of the oil pan. Block huggers are a must. It is tight. I have about a 1/2 " each side. When this thing fires up theres nothing like it.
 
zigs said:
Carefully. Actually I had to get rid of the steering knuckle. I cut the steering column just out side the fire wall and ran to joints down between the fire wall and the engine. I used a rack and pinion from a Rampage which lines up just behind the center of the oil pan. Block huggers are a must. It is tight. I have about a 1/2 " each side. When this thing fires up theres nothing like it.
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Not to be critical but why didn't you paint the engine compartment?
 
zigs said:
How did you set yours in and what did you do with the steering?
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:book:

stock maifolds, the hemi's motor mounts bolted to steel pads welded to the k frame. before you pull out your original motor use an angle finder to determine the angle for the hemi. do this with the carburetor removed, so you can get an accurate angle in the middle of the intake. then make your k frame mounts at the adjusted height

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=6328
 
72bluNblu said:
A 318/340/360 distributor will not just drop into a 330 DeSoto, the shaft isn't the right length. Hot heads does make an adaptor. All of the early hemi's can use an LA distributor with shaft length adapters, except the 241/270 dodge, it's actually a direct fit for those. All the early hemi's have the same bell housing bolt pattern for transmissions except for the '51-'54 long bell Chrysler 331's. The rest can all use the same adapters.

As far as negative, I'm not trying to be. I love old Hemi's, I actually own 4. Two Chrysler 331's, a 291 DeSoto, and a 315 Dodge. But, they have drawbacks too. They're seriously heavy, and pretty expensive to build. They can be built on the cheap if you're not looking for a lot of power (most had a stock compression ratio around 7:1), but even then they will cost more to build than a small or big block. As a showpiece they're beautiful, but as someone mentioned, it's easier and cheaper to build a small block stroker. You'd probably make more HP, and be lighter. But, nothing sounds or looks like a Hemi. One of mine is going in a '37 dodge truck, another one may end up in one of my '53 dodge trucks. And of course some extra's just in case :D .

I personally think they're better suited for hot rods, you can run sans hood sides (or minus hood entirely). Plus it seems a little strange to me to put a '50's engine in a late 60's or early 70's car. I also like my muscle cars to handle better than they would with a big chunk of Hemi up front. But that's just me. I also think the projects already posted here are awesome!





Still missed a few...

Dodge had a 241, 270, 315, and a 325

Chrysler had the 331, 354, 392

DeSoto had a 276, 291, 330, 341, and 345

And there were a few different "poly" blocks with varying displacements that can be converted with a head swap. The Chrysler 301 was one, there were a couple others with displacements not already listed.
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Glad to see someone agrees with me! :) Like I said, if you like the look and want to be different, go for it! If you want to get the most bang for the buck and have the car still handle, a stroked small block is the way to go.
 
Two of the highest selling mopars at Barrett-Jackson were '56 Desoto Fireflite Convert w 330 ci hemi at $368,000, and a '56 Desoto Adventurer 2drHT w 341 ci hemi 2x4bbl at $154,000. So that engine would be worth big bucks for some restorer.
 
rapidtransitric said:
i like the idea of the rampage steering rack. any problems with bump steer or ackerman angle
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Not so far. that was our biggest worry. I took it out on some of our old back roads with bumps and pot holes, tire groves etc and seemed to do pretty good. It does steer like an old tractor, you have to correct it around a corner but not a big deal. The only problem with the rack set up is you mount it behind the sump inline with the controll arms. you have to fab a cross support for the rack to mount to. This makes your header pipes drop down below it making them very close to the ground. As far as angle , haven't found anything that binds or hitches.
 
dart4forte said:
So did you do all the fab work yourself?
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No not all had help. Did talk with Mopar Charlie. He was one of the first i contacted when i new i wanted to do this. He had problems with bump steer but i think he basically slamed his engine in old school style. 331 , 354 , 392 are not anything new to A body racing. From what i understand talking with a couple guys that raced darts and Valiants in the late 60's, they didn't spend a whole lot of time on geometry. They took a shop hammer to the inner finder wells and beat them in untill the engine fit and the engine sat on top of the steering knuckle and they moved the master cyclender over. Prehistoric but all they had to do was go straight.
 
Its mounted in the back and i beleave we used the origenals. I can try and get pictures if you like i have the car up on stands.
 
Its mounted in the rear and i beleave we used the original tie rods. I can get pictures if you like i have the car up on stands.
 
Its mounted in the rear and i beleave we used the original tierods. I can get pictures if you like the car is on stands right now.
 
Please post the pictures in this thread as I'd definitely like to take a look at them.
 
pictures would be great. what i meant was in the rampage was the rack in the front or back?

and yes pictures, pictures, pictures!!!
 
Hey thanks for the post my engine, my Dad and I spent alot (and I mean alot) of late nights and weekends scratching our heads, engineering, fabricating, and drinking beer to get this 1956 354 inch HEMI to fit into a stock front suspension early a-body. Misc. components etc: the front brake set up is 74 Dart Swinger Disc set-up w/ manual steering [modified] (4 1/2 bolt pattern), PST kit, fire wall relocated 2 inches, stock exhaust manifolds from 1956, custom exhaust pipes(20+hours in fab), big-block t-bars, TH350 trans, 9-inch Ford Narrowed, center sump oil pan (modified +/-2qts.), stock /6 K-frame w/ homemade motor mounts, 6-point roll bar, parts help from Hot Heads and custom everywhere... and now I have nothing but fun,fun,fun with a (stock) HEMI powered '65 Valiant. If you want the cool/wow factor of an early HEMI this is a fun way to do it, Thanks Brian & Gordy
 

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rapidtransitric said:
pictures would be great. what i meant was in the rampage was the rack in the front or back?

and yes pictures, pictures, pictures!!!
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I'm not sure as the rack was new. This was bought after talking with Mopar Charlie. At first we put a Mustang 2 kit in but it operated in reverse
 
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