David Freiburger takes us on a journey through time as he recalls 20 moments that made the 426 Hemi engine a legend. #MotorTrend #Hemi #Roadkill Stream the entire Roadkill Universe on MotorTrend for $2/month! bit.ly/RoadkillUniverse
Richard Petty said that the first time he drove a Hemi-powered car on the track he thought it felt like the engine was going to suck the hood into the carburetor. It was that strong. And then he won a bunch of races with it, so there’s that.
Don Garlits and all of the drag racers of the day thought the 426 was a total dog when compared to the 392. They refused to run them. Chrysler insisted that Garlits run a 426 so he did but he was mad. At the 32 degrees or so of timing that they ran in the 392 Hemi's the 426's made a lot less power. If they ran anymore timing in the 392's they would come apart. They all assumed the 426's would do the same thing. Garlits ran the 426 but he decided to teach Chrysler a lesson and he was going to put a lot of timing in the engine so it would explode during the race. I believe he advanced the timing to 38 or 40 degrees total. To his surprise the engine didn't explode but instead it came to life. He continued to advance the timing and each time it ran faster but never exploded. If I remember correctly they eventually settled on about 46 degrees of total timing and the 426 Hemi was the way more powerful than the old 392 at that point. They never looked back and the 426 drag legend was born.
Yes, should have read the Petty wanted to do to the Hemi in Hot Rod mag . He wanted to blow it up, so he Advanced the timing on it in an attempt to blow it up, and found out it ran better.
@Art Vandelay I was referring to the 1960's. I own 3 392's and I love them although they are definitely old school technology and the bottom ends leave alot to be desired.
@@1967davethewave - All old Chryslers were slugs if running the factory spec. 'granny' ignition timing... friend bought a new '69 Roadrunner 383 4 speed and was so disappointed when my '65 GTO blew him away and he was running 15's... friends that did Chrysler racing told him to advance the timing and that put him into 13's and side by side with my GTO... ditto for my cousins '66 GTX 440" 4 speed...
Back in the day, from my house, we could hear Ascot, a few miles to the North & Lions drag strip, a few miles to the East. We could ride our bikes to which ever one we wanted to. I liked Lions because we could walk around the pits for free & that was cool enough for a 10 yr old.
Those were the "gool ol days" in the land of sunshine in the west. John you cherish those memories and tell your kids and grandkids what it was like back in the day...when you could buy 102+ OCT RON fuel for your car. I barely remember these brutes. They were huge fearsome cars, very fast, very loud with bright, beautiful paint jobs and some with vinyl tops too. 30 to 35 cents/gallon of gas in late 1960's.
I just love design and engineering from the 60's. There was such a variation in designs, engines, suspensions and crazy factory teams. Camaro's, Mustangs, Cuda, Dart, Challenger and the list goes on. Cars with real character. As discussed the 246 Hemi was there but it would have gone further as Ford and Mopar were looking at multivalve overhead cam designs. Just great !!!! The cars we have now seem so sterile in comparison. Take off the badges and you cant tell them apart...... Long live the muscle car era !!!!
Great vid David thank you. My twin and I grew up during the hemi years and indeed owned a '68 Barracuda and he and '69 swinger. We were lucky to have those let alone the awesome hemi. So many legends mentioned in your vid none quite as big as Big Daddy and King Richard.
Don Garlits didn't originally like the 426 because it wasn't as fast as the 392, so he cranked up the timing to try and blow it up. He ended up setting a track record.
And back up 10 or so years and he didn’t like the early Hemi because he felt it was a heavy truck type engine best suited to the tow car. So on a lark he ran the tow car down the quarter and was surprised to learn it was nearly as quick as the rail.
I had a 1969 383 4 speed Roadrunner in high school (1986), thought it was cool, my buddy had a A12 440 6bbl auto Roadrunner, much cooler! Hemi cars were rare even back then...Thanks for sharing!
Don’t forget on “Two Lane Blacktop” the two were ,in a drive in restaurant, picking a car to race and the mechanic said that’s a hemi , so they didn’t race that one. Pretty epic even for a movie
@@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS - The '55 in American Graffiti wouldn't roll over, they eventually ended up rolling it over by hand! And it was a junkyard car, not the L88 car...
@@BuzzLOLOL Wow, that's a FunFact!! Thanks man. I went to Graffiti Nights car cruise in Modesto one time about 35 years ago and had a blast and been on that road where they shot the scene which was no longer out in the country in the 80's!
@@scottbaker1800 No, he's right, it was a major conspiracy. These same people, at Nascar and NHRA later went on to convince all the national leaders in the entire world who normally cannot bear to talk to each other to conspire to create an imaginary virus just so they could tell Neil to go Puckett and squeeze Studley's Evernuts and tell everyone else to stay home and wear a mask.
The true NHRA story is that they forced bigger and bigger weight penalties in Super Stock so Ford and Chevy could keep up. Fact not fiction. Teams like Sox and Martin were having to carry around 100s of pounds of extra weight, so guys like Grumpy Jenkins would have a chance. So they said FU NHRA and went to AHRA.
I remember something about Ford complaining to nascar officials too or something like that, I'm not sure, it's been a while since I heard those old stories about the big 3 and nascar.
When Packard introduced their 320cu and 352cu V8s in 1955, they came with a 5.00in bore STOCK. The following year, the 374cu joined the lineup; and the 374 had the same bore as the other two. On the 374, you could get dual quads on an Offenhauser manifold. The net result was 450HP at 5500rpm. Sadly, the engines were instantly rare, and only a scant few ever made their way into the hands of hot rodders
♥♥ Yep! The 426 Hemi was a powerhouse. In late '66, I owned a Chevrolet El Camino, powered by a 396. Locally, there wasn't a vehicle around that could match its speed (in an unsanctioned drag). Then a local young man bought a '66 Dodge Charger, powered by a 426 Hemi. The vehicle was a beauty to look at. It was black, with rose-tinted windows all around. Beautiful! And, of course, I lost my reputation for having the fastest car around. Oh well. Nothing lives forever.
In 1966 I got my driver's license and Chrysler brought out the street hemi. That was the greatest hemi moment for me. In 1966 NASCAR required one car per dealership to be sold to qualify an engine for racing. At this point Chrysler said "Hold my beer" and sold over 1,500 street Hemi's to the public. Take that NASCAR. Street Hemis were available through dealers for 6 years, thousands were sold for about $700 more than a similar wedge car.
Thanks for filling in the gaps Dave ! I grew up in this era- Hot rod magazines were the only source of information - the 1/24 scale hurst hemi/the little red wagon /and the Don Garlits dragster were kits I built and will prob build them again as bookshelf monuments to the Hemi.
My personal Hemi moment was at 14 years old. A friend and I cycled to the local Chrysler dealer to see a rumoured Hemi car. There in the showroom was a recently traded-in '70 'Cuda with a 426 race Hemi. It looked like it started life as an AAR. Now without the stripes, Cragar SS wheels, big and littles and exhaust cut-outs. There was something wicked about those dual Carters seen through the AAR hood scoop. In a crazy twist, my 20ish year old neighbour bought that beast and man I knew what was going on at dinner the night he brought it home. The whole house shook. I lived for about 3 years with that orange fantasy parked on the street in front of our house. It terrorized my parents but it was the stuff of dreams at 14.
Whenever me and a few of my gear head friends get together if the word "HEMI" is mentioned the hats come off , drove a slightly modified one once ...what a friggin animal
Ford's Boss 429 motor used a partial HEMI head and a lot of motorcycle engine's at that time, such as Honda with their 350 and 450 twin's used HEMI heads with domed pistons. Tells you how good that design really was.
I love the history. my dad is 70.. mention 426 and he talks of the 4 barrel like it was from outer space. seeing a hood move downward towards it . I later learned richard petty described it similar. It is hilarious.. people on the street just driving the world most famous monster engine for decades to come. Today has returned a lot of that freedom, with many engines I digress.
During the oil embargo’s in the 70s people were dumping the hemi because it cost .50 just to start it. 😆 I bought a 69 rt charger that I wish today I never sold. Muscle cars were a dime a dozen and I would sell them after a year of driving. I had many, but the 426 was my favorite next to my 68 rt charger the I purchased as my next toy. I was fortunate to have experienced all types of muscle cars but Mopar was and is still my favorite
IMHO Keith Black & the hemi are who Shelby is to the Mustang. I did not have a dream hemi of my own but I somehow still miss the '71 airgrabber GTX I sold for 5 grand with extra body pannels, oe tips, extra air grabber switch and boxed oe interior seats, headliner, etc.... it could get me down if I let todays value sink in. But then I think of the click when turning the key before ignition, and the good ol days of more money than brains.... I'm glad I survived those days and enjoyed many nights @ Brotherhood Raceway in San Pedro spending less than what dinner would cost for entry and run what you brung all night. GREAT MEMORIES!!! & no regrets!!!
I loved this video,but as usual there is so much that was left out.every dodge guy I've ever known always want ed to race my stock mundane grocery getter so he could get a win. Anytime I've raced a dodge on a level playing field I've one.😂 you dodge guys🤣😂
Greatest now is Mercury Marine DOHC Chevy LS 427" V8 !!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Pd_chxOouYY.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Tajqa6T5Dw0.html
Had a hand built 1968 Hemi Dart, race on track, and in the streets of NYC in the late 1970s into the late 1980s. Full roller motor, lots of Sox and Martin parts.. It was unbeatable.. Ran a 557 gear, and could wheel stand at will..
I've never seen a real Hemi in the flesh, if I did I would cry. The most radical car I ever sat in was a '68 Road Runner, 440 6 pack car with acid dipped body panels, rear seat delete, factory cage, radio, heater delete and so on. Pretty wild car
In Northwest Tennessee (up in Union I believe) there is this little science park/museum/ bunch of other stuff where in one place there is a 440 superbird, and casually sitting behind some of the other cars was an unrestored 426 hemi just sitting on the floor. If you are ever in west TN area that place is definitely worth checking out.
I'm build a 71 Cuda which originally had a 340 n automatic. With the 340 long gone I planned to drop in a 440. Then I picked up a 68 Elephant block. Now it's getting a 426 bored .070" over to 440 with Aries forged 10.5 to 1 pistons, Eagle H beam rods and Lunati hydraulic cam. Heads are aluminum Dart Pro heads. Should make the Cuda talk loud. Yes it's also getting a 4 speed.
Very nice, Freiburger. The only thing missing is a quick shout out to those responsible at Chrysler for creating the engine to begin with. Tom Hoover ("Father of the Hemi"), Don Moore, Pete Hagenbuch, John Wehrly, et al - the list goes on. Chrysler had a real skunkworks going in engineering for decades - and given today's products, there still is over at SRT to an extent. -Ed on the Ridge
Great stuff, brings back a lot of memories! (Yeah I’m an old guy... I’m Dave’s age lol) He sure doesn’t look his age though, must be because he’s doing something he loves!
I read in Big Daddy Don garlits Drag Racing museum. That the reason he made that hemi so fast is he was purposely trying to blow it up so he could go back to his old motor. He set the timing all crazy and the hemi came alive.
That's true. The old 392's had a very light bottom end and couldn't take a lot of timing but ran very well with their much smaller chambers with only about 25 degrees of timing. Putting much more in would grenade them. The 426 with it's huge chambers needed more timing but no one realized that they were designed from the get go to be race engines and could easily hold up to the extra pressure 35 or 40 degrees on a supercharged engine would have. Boy did they ever hold up and that made them the best race engine ever. 392 chambers are around 100cc's while 426 chambers are a whopping 170cc's.
A little side note, after coming out with the Hemi, Ford came out with the 427 cammer which was also banned by NASCAR. In 66 they let the Hemi back in but still banned the cammer. In 1966 the Hemi produced 580 to 600 hp, the cammer produced 650 to 685 hp.
NASCAR let the Hemi run after Chrysler had sold 500 units because that was the rule. Ford never put the cammer into production so it was not allowed, they never sold 500 units, therefore, it never met the requirement to run in NASCAR.
@@kurtpoblenz2741 The 427 sohc was banned in NASCAR. In drag racing it was a terror. The 427 Tunnel Port and the Boss 429 won more NASCAR races than the hemi. Look it up.
Please do a series on engines and their history for MTOD. Long time subscriber. You forgot to mention that the street Hemi weighed in at 850# installed from the factory. 🤓
The BB Chevy is a great engine as well, but pales in comparison. The most overrated Chevy engine was the 409, If it wasn't for the Beach Boys it would be long forgotten.
The most iconic American V8 ever produced. It was, is, and will forever be known as the ultimate in American muscle. So iconic that the word "Hemi" is all that needs to be said to immediately bring to mind the image of those huge valve covers with the spark plug wires going straight down the center of them. It demands respect from any true car guy, no matter your favorite brand. While today's tech is incredible, the Hemi was ahead of it's time and is still relevant today. Just my opinion.