First generation Chrysler hemi engine family 

Traffic Dear Mr Fantasy 🤔✌️

MY FATHER'S 1957 DESOTO ADVENTURER WAS A REAL SCORCHER......THAT THING WOULD SMOKE TIRES LIKE NO ONE'S BUISINESS

High school bud of mine back in the late 1960s had a nice '54 Dodge Coronet with the Red Ram V8 and automatic trans. Super nice car.

1965 I built a 49 Plymouth 4 door(free car) with a 270 red ram hemi what a fun beast and sleeper. 1:08

Another great engine presentation Jay. Those Hemi engines sure were fast as I know that the most powerful ones could reach speeds of up to 140 mph. I had always thought that the Plymouth "Hy-Fire" V-8 A block engine which was introduced in 1955 was also a Hemi engine, but I guess not. Apparently, so I just read, it was Polysphere. It would be great to do a video on that car along with its V-8 engine because it was quite a looker, and especially the Belvedere advertised as "the beauty of its class", much like the '55 Chevy Bel Air was with its new V-8 engine. Also, it would be a treat if you did a presentation on a '49-'50 Chrysler with its old In-line straight 8 engine. Not a car that discussed much these days, but a great set of wheels nonetheless; or perhaps one of those neat looking '46-'48 Chrysler coupes or convertibles and especially that Town and Country convertible. A true beauty. So many in fact left to cover. I will thus eagerly look forward to your next What's It Like video.

I know that at least one source is showing the 331 Firepower engine weighing almost 1,000 pounds, but I doubt this. Other sources state the 331's weight at 693 pounds, which is more in line with other engine weights from the era. A 1957-1958 392 Chrysler Hemi is listed at 737 pounds, and I believe that the early 331, 354 and 392 blocks were close to being the same. A 426 Hemi weighs 843 pounds, and that makes it one of the heaviest engines created for automotive use during the mid-century era. (The early Chrysler Hemi engines are very confusing, especially when you include the Desoto and Dodge engines. I have never known why Chrysler made so many different versions of these engines. It cost them a fortune to do so.)

Driving my 1956 Dodge 315 ci D500 Hemi custom Royal Lancer I won my class in the 1987 and 1988 La Carrera classic vintage road race in the Baja Mexico. The race was 200 km 124 MI from Ensenada the Pacific coast up to 4,000 ft in the mountains then down to San Felipe on the Gulf of California. In 1987 the Dodge actually beat every sports car built before 1957. Including Jaguars Ferraris Mercedes Porsches ECT. Completely stock except for safety equipment It averaged 88.6 mph for the distance reaching 135 on the straightaways truly a world-class automobile.

Great vid, really enjoyed!!!! 👍👍

While I've owed one of each of the early Hemis, the one that stood out was the 331 Chrysler in 300HP. From the factory, it had Dual Carter 4 barrels, adjustable Rocker arms and a dual point distributor, all factory. BTW, the valve covers with dimples between the spark plug holes were for adjustable rocker arm clearance. I went through the engine using the services of a old Swedish machinist (Garn) who had built a early Hemi (392) engine for a local National record holder in the 1/4 mile. I installed .60" over Jahn's pistons, Isky cam. Back then(1973), B&M made a adapter that allowed the use of a newer 727 auto transmission, I also used one of their short tail shaft and manual valve body kits. This engine was installed in a fiber glassed bodied, Austin Bantam roadster.

I own a 1954, 241 red ram. According to the serial numbers and what dodge told me, it’s rated at 240 hp. It’s very heavy and not too bad as far as being snappy. The transmission has two pumps on it. When I purchased it, it was just an engine and transmission. I put it down in a 64 falcon but I had all kinds of firewall problems because the transmission is so large. I finally got it to mound up and I drove it forever like that. I eventually pulled it out and put it into a S 10 because I didn’t have anywhere else to put it, but it worked out very good for me. Today it’s still inside a Chevy S 10 pick up truck and I fired up occasionally. It runs like crap on today’s gasoline though. To get it to fit in both vehicles, I had to cut the firewall completely out. I had to put all kinds of new metal into it. Makes a pretty nice burn out machine. Carburetor is about the size of a canna pop, but I always wanted to find a larger carburetor for it.

My 61 d100 had a 331 in it with the original 3spd "to the motor" it had everything you needed and more for hauling wood .... Damn I miss that old rusty ass truck👍👍👍

Absolutely outstanding, get me a steam shovel to dig this effort! Of note - Chrysler’s early electronic fuel injection system rights were sold to Bosch, who worked and perfected it for the German auto companies. I’d pick the 392. Also interesting to note - these were developed as hemi engines from the start, the 426 doesn’t get quite the same distinction. Thank you as always ~ Chuck

The hemi series of engines are quite frankly some of the most brutally powerful engines ever made. The 426 is just an awesome engine all the way around. I'm glad you featured these engines in this video. It always surprised me that Chrysler DeSoto Dodge all had hemis but they're all different and different sizes and displacements. That must have been a nightmare for parts interchangeability if that was even possible for those. Id choose the 426 hemi. I was also happy to hear that you're going to be doing the polyhead engines. I owned a 64 Dodge that had that engine and it was a real good strong solid motor. But completely overshadowed and overlooked by its big brother hemi's and his little brother small blocks.

I owned a 1957 Imperial with a 392 Hemi. That car would haul ass! I also had a 1953 Dodge 241 Hemi with the Gyro-Matic fluid drive. If it was shifted from Lo range to Hi range it would go fairly well. If it was left in Hi range all the time it was a turd. Then I had a 1956 Dodge 270 Red Ram hemi in a 1956 Dodge pickup. It was a transplanted hemi. The original engine was a poly head and it was long gone by the time I got the truck. I put a pair of shorty headers on it and an Offenhauser 3x2 intake with three 97s. That really woke it up! With a Mopar A390 all synchro three speed and a 3.55 rear I could get rubber in all gears and it pulled hard like a locomotive. This little hemi could run with bigger v8s. I was truly impressed.

Well there you go, you learn something every day. I did not know that each divisions hemi were distinct and separate from each other. The Hemis were physicaliy large , expensive to manufacture and heavy. Great vid , thx.

Back in the day when these where new, Chrysler didn't use the term "hemi" for these engines. Instead they referred to them as a "double rocker V8".

I had a half dozen or more Fire Power engines from 331 to 392. Now I only have a 426 Elephant Hemi for my Cuda.

A lower compression hemi was used for Air Raid sirens.

I own a '56 Fire power in my '56 Imperial. It also has the first 3 speed torque flite trans, not available in the '56 sales brochure. It will run happily all day or night on todays interstates at 75mph, and gas milage really isn't that bad for what it is.

1956 300B, to love one is to own one. My dad picked up a complete 56 300B in 1962, for an unheard of sum of $175.00 USD. No it wasn't a junker, and no it wasn't beat up. The car was extremely presentable. And for all you performance guys, it had the factory 355 hp engine. It would scream. I still have the engine and transmission out of that car, sorry, Dad disposed of the rest of the big Chrysler years ago. Oh well. Great info video, but being a Mopar guru of that era, I knew about the different displacements of the 3 families of early Hemi's.

Thank you for sharing all this good information. Love the Chrysler family. Best wishes 😊👋🐿

I had a 55 DeSoto 291 4 barrel it got 200 hp. it ran great! boy do I MISS that car!!

I own a 331 Hemi and a 392 Hemi Both are out of vehicles, both engines are absolute monsters!!!

Excellent vidya!!

As always, your videos are 'spot on'. I grew up with Chrysler - 1950 Dodge Coronet (I remember going with Mama - my first car-buying memory) 1951 Chrysler Imperial 1954 Chrysler New Yorker (gramma) 1955 DeSoto Coronado 1958 Plymouth Belvedere (gramma) 1960 Matador 1962 Lancer GT 1962 Dart 440 (gramma) 1964 Chrysler 300 (my first new car) 1966 Crown Imperial 1973 New Yorker Brougham 1976 New Yorker

We had a close family friend who had a 1955 Chrysler 300. We went on lot's of trips in that car! The owner said that he had it up to 126 mph , but the pedal wasn't floored either. These Chryslers with Hemis, from the middle of 1953 to the middle of 1956 only had 2-speed Powerflites, if automatic and the Imperial got the new 3-spoeed Torqueflite in the middle of 1956. Our family friends had both the 1955 300 and a 1956 Imperial. Speaking of the polyspherical V8 The Chrysler Windsors had, I believe, the 318 c.i. version in 1955-6. I was blown away when I saw several of these cars because I thought all Chryslers had the 331 Hemi.

Really interesting. I've been a HEMI fan for decades, but didn't realize there were so many displacements among the various Chrysler lines. I note that several were "under-square" designs, which should produce more torque. Also, Chrysler's Marine HEMIs were the ultimate in gasoline engines for small boats, back in the '50s. I think the Marine versions were only offered in 331 and 354 cubic inch displacements. You ask which I would choose - obviously the 392 cubic inch design. Bigger is always better! But, the 426 versions, Gen II, were the best of the lot. And they featured cross-bolt main caps, and other goodies. They are still the gold standard to which others compare. Now displacements range from 426, 528, 572, and even 610 (10-liter) versions. For me, the Ray Barton/Keith Black 528 CID would be the ultimate street ( or racing) engine. In 1967, the HEMI option for the GTX was $650, which was a ton of money back then. That seems like a pittance today. Anyway, that's why I "settled" for the standard 440 in my GTX, which was a great street engine, but lacked the "mystique" of the HEMI badge. Chrysler's legendary HEMI engines still have that aura of performance and desirability that no other engine can ever hope to match. Thanks for a great video.

A hemi head design is way more efficient than the standard wedge head used in all the other engines built.

Good job. Does need to be remembered. Now look up the 57 olds j2 engine.

The big Chrysler Hemi was certainly an impressive engine to look at, especially when fitted with the two four barrel intake of the 300’s. An impressive start for their first attempt at a V8 engine, when you realize it was the go to engine all through the 50’s and most of the 60’s, when supercharged and on nitro. It is the gen 2 Street Hemi’s that are a big part of my life.

Good job 👍💯💥

Forty years ago, I had a 1957 Imperial... Like the New Yorker it had a 325 HP single 4 BBL 392 Hemi. It was a survivor car with 51K miles and an engine that had never been apart. This was also the first year of the 3-speed Torqueflite automatic. Together, they moved a nearly 5000 lb. luxury barge with ease. Wish I had been able to keep it all these years.

That is awesome video j..you do a terrific job narrating your videos. I sure learned something today.

I race the old hemi engines in the 1960's and there was a Plymouth engine and I used it.

Dear Mr. Fantasy, Traffic 👍💪.Great episode. Love them old Chrysler products!

First mass produced hemi was Citroen 2cv two years before the Chrysler and Citroen generally was exclusively a Hemi company!!

Have Chrysler Windsor 57a have The Nice polly Engine 287 hp Runns grate. (Have ignator3). Dual pieps tou low wollym..Solid car tou 100% Al orginal shet metal!!!

Great informative video! I drive a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere with the 260ci Polysphere V8. Powerhouse! Fun.

The Hemi engine was born in... Belgium in 1904. The Pipe company made the first car with an hemispherical engine, actually two- both straight four engines of either 3.7 liters or a massive 8.3 liter monster. Unfortunately, the Pipe company was over-run during World War I and would not survive the carnage.

Thank you for featuring the hemi, an engine I've heard a lot about but have never experienced. I always heard they were phenomenal but very expensive.

Love your informative videos. I drive a very low miles 55 Plymouth with Polyhead V8 260 with AT. It sounds and runs like a small and powerful HEMI. She goes!

Question - have you ever worked on any of the engines you review? My first mother in law had a 55 Dodge with the 270 cu inch hemi. A Custom Royal Lancer Ran great quick for the day. She drove it for 25 years. When I worked as a mechanic, worked on a number of Hemi engines. All held up well. Yep, more than anything else it was cost that sent them away, until brought back out.

Kudos for knowing the 57 Rambler Rebel also ran Bendix fuel injection. Most folks don't know that.

My Dad had a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker then a 1957 Imperial Crown with the 392 Hemi. Big beautiful car with effortless highway cruising. My uncle was a Desoto man and had a ‘55 then a ‘56 Desoto Fireflite. Both were green and not so fast compared to the Imperial.

I loved the little Red Ram. That 4.0 displacement really shocked me. I knew about the hemi V8. But never knew about the 241.

My first vintage car was a 1953 Dodge Coronet with 241 Hemi and gyro matic semi automatic. That I bought in 1979 for $325. Started my 45 + years of collecting restoring and racing vintage mopars. That a little Hemi ran so well it was hard to believe it was only 241 cubic inches.

My second car was a 241 hemi Dodge with the awkward teo speed semi-automatic.. Roomy and comfy.

Hi Jay!: Really enjoyed the coverage of the early Hemis!! I bet that Plymouth DOHC V-6 would have been something else!! Too bad they never produced that! I'm intrigued with the little Dodge Baby Hemi! Interesting. If I was to pick one, since I kind of like DeSoto's it would be that dual carb one from 1957.

I had heard that the reason the FI design failed was lack of shielding from radio and ignition electronic interference. It was said that a simple copper shield could have proved the design reliable and superior to carburetor. Thanks for sharing, you do a good job, very informative. 👍

Excellent ! You should do one on the direct evolution of the 1956 poly "A" series into the "LA" series into the "Magnum" series (Including V10, Viper versions) into todays gen 3 Hemi !! Hint.... They are all architecturally related, with numerous common hard points. (Also hint, there are two different poly engine families, only one of them is directly related to todays gen 3 Hemi).

When I was 15 a friend of the family gave me a De Soto four door sedan that had a hemi, I didn't have a drivers license yet, but I already had four cars, two 1950 Ford Customs and a 1959 Chevy El Camino with wrap around rear window and the De Soto. The De Soto had a strange transmission. it was an automatic but it had a clutch allowing you to shift or leave it in auto. I never liked that car, it was a long time ago, but as I remember it was an "old mans car." Care to guess which of the group everyone gravitated too? One of my Ford Customs was an old police cruiser, with spot lights, fender skirts, visor. and I could put 6 to 8 kids in the trunk and sneak into the drive inn movies.. But I loved the El Camino, 283, hurst shifter, Black on Red with red pinstriping and chrome moonie's. It was soo cool..

I bought a Toyota SR5 in 1979 with a Toyota HEMI. Good performance though by 1982 I was blowing head gaskets.

426 HEMI THE BEST 1970 BEST YEAR !!

I believe the little Dodge Hemi in 1954 when equipped with the 4 barrel carburetor (I think also a dedicated higher rise intake manifold) was supposed to produce 170 horsepower.

My understanding is that the Hemi was large, heavy and complex. The advantage was it could make TONS of horsepower when modified, especially when supercharged. Dominated dragstrips back in the day. I think the biggest and baddest of the first gen was a 392 ci version? Never owned one, always wanted the experience. Mopar guys, weigh in here!

In Australia we had the 215, 245 and 265 straight six.

392 my preference

392 HEMI for me, please.

My Brother's first car was a 1953 Dodge Coronet 2-door hardtop. The colors were cream over maroon. It was a really nice looking car. The little Red Ram hemi was a strong engine with lots of torque. The only drawback was the transmission - it had the "Gyro-Torque" box which was just a really strange transmission. Once you got use to it, it worked great, but was not a good transmission for trying to drag race other cars. He is now 80 years old and still misses this car....

Not to mention the turbine car. Chryslers reputation at that time was of producing mobile rust buckets.

Early Chryslers had 7.5:1 compression and put out the same or more HP than Cadillac's 331. Some would use Cadillac higher compression Pistons in Chrysler 331 hemis for more power. I owned a 1954 New Yorker Deluxe, 2 door newport hardtop. A nice car with power steering, brakes, windows and seat as well as electric windshield wipers and the Powerflite 2 speed automatic, which was not unlike a Powerglide in operation with the same 1st gear ratio which was good to 65 mph. It had dual wheel cylinder brakes that were problematic for me. The New Yorker Deluxe shared the 235 HP 4 barrel engine with the Imperial. It was a quiet engine and would get 17-18 mpg on the highway. ladies' '

Currently own the 56 Adventurer with the 341 dual carb hemi (320 horse). Very beautiful car and a nice ride with plenty of power. Bad gas mileage of course, but who cares, right?

I would like to see a video on the Poly head engines. One interesting fact is that the modern "Hemi" engine combustion chamber is more similar to the Poly combustion chamber than the 426 "Elephant" engines.

The P-48 LOL! I think you mean P-47 and even then all it amounted to was a couple of test aircraft.

Fantastic video , the FirePower engine series is my favorite !!! My choice of this series would be the 417 Donovan , or a 392 using 1955 331 heads . Some points to add to the presentation - These engines were designed around the available fuel quality of the late 1940's which had an octane rating of about 60 . This is why the compression of the first 331's was 7.5 to 1 . The fuel octane would get higher throughout the 1950's and allow for higher compression ratios ( as well as allowing cheaper engine designs to become viable ). - The engineers borrowed heavily from the Ardun OHV flathead conversion ( James Zeder mentions this in a few of his writings ). The " objective " was to develop " the best V8 that is possible to mass produce ". The Ardun engines gave them a working model to go by. Back then the engineers freely shared information between themselves across manufacturers. Duntov is quoted as saying that he felt " honored " regarding the Chrysler design upon it's release. - The Chrysler A311 Racing Program took a 331 and made 400 hp in 1952 . - The weight of a stock 392 is 737 lbs. Lose the cast iron intake , generator , etc. and it gets much more manageable in the weight dept. - The 392 was the engine of choice for fuel drag racing throughout the 1960's and would continue into the 1970's as the 417 Donovan. We never got to see much development of the 392 as a street engine . After it was discontinued there was an awful lot of resources invested into the wedge engines ( Max - Wedge ). The result of those efforts ended with development of the 426 hemi. And THANK YOU for mentioning that the 354 Power Giant was available in 1959 . I catch some grief in conversations if I mention that , lol.

Do you know of any crossover of engines? I worked on a one owner 1956 Chrysler Imperial in 1985. I was getting the old car out of a garage and getting it running to be handed down to a family member when the owner passed away. I remembe it being a 6-volt electrical system and it said Red Ram very clearly on the valve covers. It was a hemi but it was the original motor in this car with less than 20,000 miles.

Lenos Dobbel steam car has over 1000 ft lbs of torque. More than a big bus.

I believe these engines all had two rocker arm shafts inside each rocker arm cover and the spark plugs were in tubes that went through the rocker arm covers and could leak oil into the place where the spark plug sat. With just one rocker arm shaft you would have had to had the intake and exhaust valves all in a single line until I think for the "poly" engine they alternated between the left and right sides of the rockers having the valve stem vs. the pushrod so that the intake and exhaust valves could have somewhat different angles and/or non linear location in the combustion chamber but not so much as in the full Hemi I am not sure but I think some of the "poly" used the same engine block as a Hemi but the cylinder heads were somewhat less expensive. Also not sure if the Dodge Hemi engine block was the origin of the first 318 engines which then got simple wedge heads and then lightened in weight (the 318 in some early 1960s trucks was heavier than the 318s found in late 1960s cars) but the light 318 probably still had a bit more meat in it than did the small Ford V8 that appeared as a 260 cubic inch version or even smaller and then eventually became the "289" and the "302",I think then a major revision with metal added to the bottom end,decks and added height to become 351 Windsor don't know why the Mustang outsold the Barracuda by so big a margin,I thought the Barracuda a bit better car especially with the panoramic rear window,the Barracuda's 225 Slant Six probably outclassed the standard six in the Mustang and the Barracuda had an optional 318 when I think the top engine in the Mustang was a 289

Dear Mr Fantasy by Traffic.

Hi, I bet you didn’t know that Mopar made a 2.4 liter Hemi that was in the K-Car.

You miss Chrysler? You talking about the Hellelephant? A Challenger Demon 170? A 8.9 1/4 mile off the showroom floor?

Most parts are not interchangeable ? Sounds like Ford, lol. Thanks for the video.

I lost interest when he said with flat pistons the stroke neede to be longer make compression the piston can only go to top dead center. But he is a good reader.

Dodge D50 ? Dodge D500 ? Are those 270 Hemis? Any of them have a decent 4 speed instead of the 2 speed auto? Did any get the improved Torqueflyte 3 speed auto?

Yes, I miss Chrysler, At one point in my young life I had a 1968 New Yorker. It had Lockheed disk brakes and an hp 440. With the 273 rearend, this car would make 150 mph.

I suppose the biggest (392) was best and most developed but they were all "great" engines from what my "great" uncle says. Of course like most of us, the older we get, the greater we, and everything else used to be. 😉

Cost was the only reason for its demise. The B /RB engine was cheaper & lighter. Emissions & fuel consumption were not yet really considered. Hemi's fuel consumption would likely have been better than a wedge, although its 900 odd pounds would have eaten some of the advantage. Emissions probably would have been better also, as wedge chambers are really dirty. Its hardly surprising Chrysler went back to the Hemis - shame it took until 2003!

P-47

P-48!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Jay, that 3rd Gen Hemi you spoke of isn't a true HEMI, check it out dude...... it's just Chrysler talkin' shit!

P47 not P48 chowder head😊

Mate Chrysler Australia had the 265 ci Hemi Six cylinder and it had valves turned 90 deg , so North South orientation not east west like the V8 Hemi and the Aussie six is NOT a cross flow motor , because intake and exhaust are North South the intake and exhaust can be on the same side of the head , as for the spark plug location it comes in from the Aussie driver's side on a sharp downward direction ending up near the middle of the Hemispherical chamber , I see it all the time , US people saying this motor is not a Hemi because the plug does not come down the middle and the intake / exhaust is on the same side , this means nothing , the Ford 427 cammer has a Hemi chamber but the spark plug is on the intake side of the head, all that matters is the valves are on different angles , it don't matter if it's east / west or north /south and the combustion chamber is Hemispherical ! The Chrysler Australia 265ci Hemi has both these features so it is a real Hemi . If you note the current Honda CR450f Motorcross bike it has the same narrow valve angles as our 265 Hemi .

Must take note that Chrysler did not invent the hemi

Republic P-47 not 8

gen 3 IS NOT a hemi.... its only a marketing name now

I have a 1956 DeSoto 330 c.i. I was going to put into a 1941 Plymouth Business Coupe. HOT HEADS in Low Gap, N.C. said I can get 400 - 450 hp out of it without getting radical. Nothing is interchangeable with the Chrysler 331 c..i. hemi. The DeSoto hemis are strong engines. The DeSoto 345 c.i. hemi was the first engine to make 1 hp per c.i. in American cars, beat out the corvette by around 6 months. The 1941 Plymouth Business Coupe with the 330 c.i. hemi is for sale.

5 ASTARS