Which hemi? 6.1 for $4000 or build forged 5.7?

Which hemi? 6.1 TB to pan for $4000 or build forged 5.7?

  • 6.1 for $4000

    Votes: 62 63.3%

  • Build forged 5.7

    Votes: 36 36.7%
  • Total voters
    98
  • Poll closed .
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U

Uhcoog1

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Hey fellas-

I've got an opportunity at a 6.1 locally, TB to pan, that was pulled out of a jeep SRT8. 50k-60k miles. This guy bought it from the LKQ yard here, and it came with a 6 month warranty (I'm sure it doesn't apply to anyone but the first owner, though). He never put it in his LX charger (sold the charger).

I can buy it at $4000, which is really tempting.

I've been accumulating parts for my 5.7 build, including some stage III heads, 6.1 intake, cam, block, crank, ect. I'm really only lacking pistons, rods, machine work and assembly to have a forged 5.7.

Which route should I go? Finish the forged 5.7, or buy the 6.1?
 
well what are your power goals? daily driver? street/strip car? I would say build the forged 5.7 if your planning on adding alot of power to the motor. If your just going for a daily driver then you might as well buy the 6.1. both are great motors that produce quite a bit of power.
 
I'm going to stay N/A, so pretty much everything I want to do can be done with a stock 6.1. The components are good to 600 hp and 7000 rpm. The piston is susceptible to damage with detonation, and I'll be tuning this myself. But, a complete motor sounds really nice (seeing as I'm chasing bolts, timing covers, pulleys, etc etc).

The 5.7 forged motor will probably cost more, be less cubic inches, but I'll get rid of the susceptibility of the pistons. With the ported heads, I'll probably make more power. It would be good to 800 hp with 7000 rpm (with the rods I'm looking at), and could live to 8000 rpm with Sharadon rocker shaft tie downs should I ever feel the need.
 
If it were me, I would buy the complete 6.1L and get the car running! The 6.1L is no slouch and should be good for an easy 500+HP with some bolt ons and tuning.

Then build the 5.7L as a spare engine, or slam it together and sell it to recoup some money. Or... Build it for 800HP at your leisure, drop that in and sell the 6.1L at a later date. Either way, don't pass up the 6.1L.
 
Mr.Ed said:
If it were me, I would buy the complete 6.1L and get the car running! The 6.1L is no slouch and should be good for an easy 500+HP with some bolt ons and tuning.

Then build the 5.7L as a spare engine, or slam it together and sell it to recoup some money. Or... Build it for 800HP at your leisure, drop that in and sell the 6.1L at a later date. Either way, don't pass up the 6.1L.
Click to expand...

X2 :burnout:
 
I have a 08 srt8 charger, with a supercharger and cat back system and tuning it's 600 horsepower, 507 at the rear wheels with 4lbs of boost, 534 with 6lbs of boost. It has been on the dyno twice, onc with the 4lb pulley and once with the 6lb pulley. Love the 6.1 motor..
 
6.1

Mr. Ed, Martin, and Hauk67 all have the right idea.

Worst case you sell your 5.7 to finance the 6.1

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
At 4K the used 6.1 is a good deal though not a screamin deal. Offer him 3500.00 if possible go over to his house with hundreds. Nothing like 35 one hundred dollar bills to convince someone to let something go, especially since he doesn't have a project for the motor.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
I'm a bigger fan of the 5.7. The power output can easily exceed the stock 6.1. And you build it forged and you will have a good platform for boost or nitrous down the road. If you go 6.1 and decide to add boost later your limited unless you tear into it again. A forged 5.7 and a good amount of boost should net you close to 1000hp if you desire. But the 6.1 is limited to low boost levels unless you build it at that point. It's a hard choice. But I vote 5.7.
 
Mr.Ed said:
If it were me, I would buy the complete 6.1L and get the car running! The 6.1L is no slouch and should be good for an easy 500+HP with some bolt ons and tuning.

Then build the 5.7L as a spare engine, or slam it together and sell it to recoup some money. Or... Build it for 800HP at your leisure, drop that in and sell the 6.1L at a later date. Either way, don't pass up the 6.1L.
Click to expand...
X3

Nothing like having a spare motor laying around.

j
 
No substitute for cubic inch. I remember hearing from a buddy of mine that one of the car magazine out published an article about the 5.7 or 6.1 to see exactly how good the stock parts were on the complete car engine, trans, diff, etc. to see how much HP the could actually handle. They started with a stock Charger I believe and went up from there from cam, heads, supercharger, compression, converter, gears etc. Sorry I do not remember the magazine. You got to take into consideration the miles on the 6.1 and you do not know how the previous owner drove the car.
 
Let's not forget, the 6.1L already comes with a forged crank, better rods, ARP fasteners, better heads (11% better flow intake; 13% exhaust,) oil squirters for the pistons, reinfoced block, higher flow injectors, hollow valves, better valve springs, etc.

It's a no-brainer, IMHO.
 
I would have to say go with the 6.1 but then again I have that motor going in my Duster. Although mine is new I would have loved to pay that price for the motor.
 
I'd finish the 5.7. Here's something to think about. Have one of your 6.1 forged crankshafts offset ground to Honda rod journal size. Eagle makes a SB Chevy connecting rod with Honda rod journals and .927" pin. With the added stroke your 5.7 will be at 370 cubes. The cost for grinding the crank and re-nitriding will be around $400 give or take.
 
FWIW, There are lots of deals for 5.7/6.1's. I bought (2) good 6.1 long blocks/minus heads heads and int's, for $1,200. One needs pistons. 2009+ "Eagle" heads are $240 ea., complete. It pays to shop around. Good Luck, ateam.
 
Well, I'm going to go check out the 6.1 this week. I'll give it a leakdown test and see if I can get my hands on a borescope that will fit inside the spark plug hole. If all looks good, I'll buy it.

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do, though. The 5.7 should actually make more power, given the head flow numbers (350+).
 
I'd say 6.1, get help tuning it and then donate the 5.7 parts to me......:thumblef:
 
I went to look at the 6.1 today- talk about a bad deal. It was in the back of a mechanic's shop, with a bunch of other pull-out motors. First thing that caught my eye was a blown 6.1 piston/rod that was near the 6.1. The motor was quite clean, too clean. Upon closer inspection, the head gaskets had some sort of assembly lube on them, telling me they had just need put back on. When the owner arrived, I asked him what was wrong with it, and why they pulled it apart. He flat out lied and proceeded with a story that he couldn't keep straight. I walked away at this point.

Steer clear of a guy named Charlie with a 6.1 on Richmond in Houston!
 
Mr.Ed said:
Let's not forget, the 6.1L already comes with a forged crank, better rods, ARP fasteners, better heads (11% better flow intake; 13% exhaust,) oil squirters for the pistons, reinfoced block, higher flow injectors, hollow valves, better valve springs, etc.

It's a no-brainer, IMHO.
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I agree with Mr. ED... Start off with the sturdier platform if big power is your game.

JOE
 
joeboy said:
I agree with Mr. ED... Start off with the sturdier platform if big power is your game.

JOE
Click to expand...

Well if you actually compare a 5.7 and 6.1 block side by side you'll see that the main webs on the 5.7 are built stronger. The webs on the 6.1 have a casted hole through them whereas the 5.7 is casted solid. The 5.7 blocks also sonic check much higher than a 6.1. Most 6.1 blocks can only handle a .020" over bore where most 5.7's can handle up to .075" and maintain the same wall thickness.
 
having a thicker cyl wall will be key when it comes to making big power. Main caps can be made custom to handle the power. I see the block as being the limiting factor on a huge power build. Lets hear the opinons of sheradon and inertia on what block is better excluding the main caps and any other thing that can be bolted to it. I know the 6.1 seems to fail at around 1000rwhp what about the 5.7? Anyone seen a failure of a 5.7 due to "too much power" (if there is such a thing)
 
Uhcoog1 said:
I went to look at the 6.1 today- talk about a bad deal. It was in the back of a mechanic's shop, with a bunch of other pull-out motors. First thing that caught my eye was a blown 6.1 piston/rod that was near the 6.1. The motor was quite clean, too clean. Upon closer inspection, the head gaskets had some sort of assembly lube on them, telling me they had just need put back on. When the owner arrived, I asked him what was wrong with it, and why they pulled it apart. He flat out lied and proceeded with a story that he couldn't keep straight. I walked away at this point.

Steer clear of a guy named Charlie with a 6.1 on Richmond in Houston!
Click to expand...
wise move my friend. There is a shop here local to me that could not give me a stroked out 6.1 or 5.7. Hell they would be hard pressed to pay me to take it. I have seen the work they do. And I want nothing to do with them. Sounds like you found yourself in a similar position with this guy. Build the 5.x and enjoy it.
 
Sorry to hear that the motor was a bust. Geez, I hate liars. A little honesty goes a long way.

03Ramit,

I am not saying you're wrong. I've also read a number of claims that the 5.7 block is superior to the 6.1 block since it can allegedly be overbored between .075 and .080, yet when I look at stroker kits for both the 5.7 and 6.1 I only see .020 and .040 pistons for both motors. Given the external gusseting on the 6.1 block, I find it hard to believe that the 5.7 block is better. Though, I could be wrong.

Also why would Mopar build a motor with such thick cylinder walls since auto manufacturers are trying to get the weight down?

Again, I am not saying your wrong. But, I'd like some people to chime in people who have broken a block or two. Not just yahoos like me who just know what they read on the interwebz.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
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