Gastrick is a BAD influence!

[donsrods]

He had to go ahead and build that cool hemi, now everybody wants one! Today my Son Don scored a 55 DeSoto hemi off of Craigslist, it's a 291 and very complete. He and I went this afternoon and picked it up, plans are to build some car to put it in, he just isn't sure what yet.

I called Hot Heads, the hemi people, and they said to jump on it. We got it for $ 400. I also called Vintage Speed, they sell a 4 carb aluminum intake for this low deck model.

So THANKS Bill for giving us Hemi envy. Here are some shots of us bringing it home today.

Don

 

[Tripper]

He had to go ahead and build that cool hemi, now everybody wants one!

Yep... that guy's definitely a troublemaker. I have no doubts he'll cause even more trouble when he starts buildin' that '34! [ddd[ddd[ddd

BoB

 

[Sam_Fear]

Score!!

 

[earthman]

Put it on an engine stand in the garage, pour a big glass of iced tea,
then just sit back and savor the possabilities

 

[BruceR&C]

Put it on an engine stand in the garage, pour a big glass of iced tea, (or whatever )
then just sit back and savor the possabilities

Nice find Don & at a great price, too. [dr[dr

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys. Man, hemis are sooooooo pretty. Bills coupe was always something special, but when he put that hemi in there it took it off the chart. I've been doing some digging on line for my Son, and it looks like there is actually a lot of stuff for this motor, and some new stuff being developed now.

I'm pretty stoked for my Kid getting this one.

Don

 

[CR55]

Great score! That's gonna look good in just about anything you put it in...CR

 

[pistolpete]

Nice score, that will look sweet in whatever it ends up in. Wish there was $400 Hemi's in this neck of the woods.

 

[ratdog]

Thats a great find, I bet you guys cant wait to start building it.

 

[Tripper]

plans are to build some car to put it in, he just isn't sure what yet.

I'm thinkin' that mite be kool in a 40's fat fendered sleeper Ford c-dan!!! [cl

BoB

 

[Gasser300]

I kinda like those wheels on the Buick wagon in the background.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Hotheads said jump on it. LOL, Now they know you are good for a few G in their store.
Good score BTW, Does it run?

 

[donsrods]

I kinda like those wheels on the Buick wagon in the background.

Hehe, funny story about that Buick wagon. My Son owns it as his work car and bought it a while back with only 30,000 on the odometer. It's pretty clean, but he uses it to haul his band instruments. Anyway, he played for a gig recently at a car show and when he pulled in to park the guys at the gate thought he was coming in to enter the car show so they ushered him in. He got to park right by the bandstand so he didn't have to haul his stuff very far. The other band members couldn't figure out how he got in so close as they had to park further away. He gets more compliments at red lights and stuff on that stupid car than he does on his Vette.

WB3, yep, Hot Heads smelled a bunch of future money coming their way. No, it doesn't run but he wants to tear it down and rebuild it anyway. I'm going over today to start soaking it with Marvel Mystery Oil so we can try to turn it over first.

Don

 

[kelseydum]

Yep, I got the Hemi bug too. I'm trying to score a Dodge 270 for a fair price... now I just need the money... hehehe.

Can't wait to see what you put it in.

 

[jfg455]

You are right, the Hemi definately put the coupe over the top. As if the interior wasn't enough then he has to stuff a nice period Hemi in it? [cl

 

[Pookie Bros]

Hemi

 

[Gregster]

All I can say is cooleo !!

 

[Gastrick]

I apologize for causing trouble[ddd. And just as a warning of further mischief, once I obtained my first hemi, my dad and brother decided they needed one also. Now there are enough parts for four of the things stashed around the shop.[S

Dangit Don, I've been looking for a DeSoto Hemi here in South Florida. I was thinking of using one in my 34 project because the DeSoto has smaller external dimensions than the Chrysler and I can use the extra space. Everything that you should need is available for those engines. Tell Don congrats on the score. Did you guys get the spark plug wire covers with that? I think the DeSotos have the sharpest looking wire covers. Also of interest, the Hot Heads website has a personal classifieds section.

Oh, and I heard the ladies dig Desoto hemi's. Not sure if it's true but this photo seems to support said theory

 

[donsrods]

She came with the engine, but is a little older now. I'd post a picture, but it's not really a pretty sight.

You're right Bill, they are actually pretty compact for a hemi. I was surprised at that fact. No, we didn't get the DeSoto script plug covers. I thought I saw covers that had the name embossed into the upper section of them, but must have been wrong. I was surprised to see in your picture that the starter is on the drivers side. We didn't get the bellhousing or starter so I didn't realize that.

Bill, did you find that a regular machine shop had the ability to do your blocks or did you have to seek out someone who was familiar with an peculiarities of these engines? Reason I asked is that my regular machine guy told me I had to find someone to do the flathead I got from Paul in Atlanta, so I thought maybe hemis might be somewhat the same.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

Don, the starter is on the driver's side on all the hemi's I believe. Depending on the transmission used you can get an adapter that moves the starter location to the passenger side. That's what I did.

I took my engine to what is considered to be one of the best race engine mahine shops in my area. They were not all that familiar with hemi's but did research so they would get it right. It was pretty darn expensive even with me doing all of the assembly work. There are a couple places in Florida that specialize in hemi's. One of them is in the Daytona area. Since I'll be retired soon and will have more time, I may take my next engine to one of them for machine work. The local machine shop that I usually use didn't want anything to do with it.