Even with improved parts, there's still no substitute for meticulous engine assembly. Here, Dick Landy torques the aluminum heads in three careful increments (45, 60, and 75 ft-lbs).
Original-style Hemi blocks (PN P4529850) have unique engine mounts that require a special hard-to-find Hemi K-member.
However, the new blocks (PN P4529852) have B-engine motor-mount ears, enabling them to bolt to standard V-8 crossmembers using standard B-engine insulators and brackets.
Made by Wiseco for MP, the new-generation 10.25:1 street-Hemi piston uses full-floating 1031 steel pins retained by bulletproof round-wire retainers and accepts 5/64-5/64-3/16 rings. Because the new MP Hemi rods weren't yet available, this engine uses Manley "ready-to-run" 4340 billet steel capscrew rods.
MP's new balanced 1053 steel crank (PN P5249207) is improved with radiused fillets.
For street engines, Dick Landy recommends MP tri-metal bearings; the mains feature "medium-size" full grooves. MP has also retooled the hard-to-find real seal retainer.
Milodon's low-profile oil pan fits B- and E-bodies (Charger/Road Runner and Barracuda/Challenger, respectively); and holds seven quarts of oil, one quart more than stock. Milodon also offers a louvered windage tray, but the dipstick, tube, and oil filter are MP items.
MP aluminum Hemi heads are more than 50 pounds lighter per set than cast-iron heads.
Each 170cc chamber head (PN P4529336) features a single plug per cylinder, valve seats, and guide inserts redesigned for better sealing and superior retention on ported heads. Cast-iron heads are also back in production.
Hemi balancers, from left: discontinued stock street Hemi, SFI-legal street Hemi replacement (PN P5249699) used on Whites engine, and ultimate race Fluidampr (PN P4452776). The MP replacement is compatible with stock pulleys; custom pulleys are needed with the Fluidampr.
Although still very streetable, Mopar's hydraulic flat-tappet "mild competition" cam is worth about 15 hp over the original street-Hemi cam. Install it on 106-degree intake centerline using MP degree bushings. MP supplied the pushrods, double-roller timing chain, and chrome Hemi front timing cover too.
With only 5/16-inch stems, the huge Hemi 2.25-inch intake/1.94-inch exhaust valves really benefit from friction-reducing roller rocker-arms. Combined with modern valve-stem seals pirated from late Magnum V-8 engines, these Dick Landy-developed MP stainless-steel roller rockers help cut valve-guide wear.
The bane of old Hemis--fouled spark plugs--becomes ancient history with a modern electronic ignition system. On White's engine, an MP breakerless magnetic-impulse distributor with vacuum advance (PN P3690432) is used in conjunction with an MSD-6AL box with an integral rev-limiter and a Blaster coil.
Chrysler's Hemicars were the stuff legends are made of. Their performance was awesome, but their unit volume was relatively low for an industry that measures production quantities in the tens of thousands. Among the rarest of the rare was the '71 Hemi 'Cuda. With just 107 hardtops and seven convertibles made, by now normal attrition has culled the ranks to a few hearty survivors. It should come as no surprise that buying and restoring an original factory '71 Hemi 'Cuda can set you back in the neighborhood of $70,000, so only a fortunate few will ever be able to own an actual production example.
One obvious alternative to the real thing is "cloning." Start with a plain-vanilla version of the same make and model, then swap in the high-perf drive-train. Unfortunately, Hemi engines have been long out of production, and even if a car crafter could locate a decent $7,000 used Hemi, mounting the big "Elephant" Engine requires a unique "K-member" (Mopar jargon for the front engine-support crossmember)--also long discontinued (figure $1,600, if you can find one). For a while, it seemed as if the only way the average car crafter could hope to see a Hemi was on the racetrack or in a museum.
Recently that's all changed, thanks to Mopar Performance (MP), Chrysler's performance parts program. MP has made practical what was once impractical, by retooling all the parts necessary to build up a Hemi engine and making them available through MP dealers. Besides casting reproduction-style blocks with original-configuration Hemi engine mounts, MP also offers a new casting with Mopar big-block wedge-engine (B-motor) mount pads that can bolt up to any standard V-8 K-member.
Presto! Hemi cloning is now a viable possibility, and to prove it Car Craft will be following along as Petersen Publishing employee Brit White's '71 383 'Cuda evolves into a modern-day Hemi monster. The plan is to retain the good looks and appeal of the classic musclecar but, because the clone isn't a "priceless" original, enhance it with '90s-style engine-technology upgrades and handling improvements. This month we'll take a look at MP's Hemi parts offerings as Dick Landy Industries puts together a modern Elephant that'll run rings around the original. In the following months, we'll visit the Mopar E-body resto specialists at Ultimate Rides in El Paso, Texas, and watch as they drop in the engine, upgrade the drivetrain, and modernize the suspension. Finally, we'll come back with a complete track test on the finished car.