The Chrysler Hemi engine is a legend that powered the quickest professional inventory drag vehicles and traditional muscle vehicles previous the competitors each time. It can also be a dwelling legend, persevering with to today underneath the hoods of the baddest Ram pickups, however sadly not in muscle vehicles, as Dodge has discontinued the Charger and Challenger. Like all good legends, there’s a little bit of thriller and, on this case, it includes the legendary Ball-Stud Hemi engine, talked about however not often seen.

Like Big Foot of the Loch Ness Monster, the Ball-Stud Hemi was rumored to exist, with eyewitness accounts fueling the intrigue, however no tangible proof. Amateur scientists have been looking cryptic creatures for many years to no avail, however some automotive sleuths have been capable of monitor down the fabled Ball-Stud Hemi. For gearheads and Mopar fans, that is akin to discovering the Holy Grail, whereas concurrently proving El Chupacabras exists. It is actual, it’s spectacular, and there is just one in existence.

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Hemi History 101

To absolutely respect the Ball-Stud Hemi, it is necessary to cowl the historical past of the Chrysler Hemi engine first. Named for its hemispherical combustion chamber, the Hemi engine was first developed as a 2,500-horsepower V-16 engine meant to be used in fighter plane. The finish of WWII nixed that venture and, sadly, it was by no means tailored for road use. Chrysler down-sized the engine to 331 cubic inches (5.4-liter) for civilian automobile use, and called it the “FirePower.”

In the early days, from 1951 to 1958, the Hemi engine was not marketed as such. Chrysler known as it the FireplacePower, DeSoto’s have been dubbed, “FireDome,” and Dodge named them “Red Ram” for vehicles and “PowerDome” for vans, which does not make loads of sense. Whatever the identify, the Hemi engines, which had displacements between 276 and 392 cubic inches(4.5-6.4 liters), have been the quickest of the day, favored by sizzling rodders, road racers, {and professional} race automobile drivers.

The 426 Street Hemi

For no matter cause, the Hemi was retired in 1958, however an concept that superior was too good to remain dormant for lengthy. In 1964, Chrysler got here out with the 426, AKA the elephant engine, which is the engine everybody is aware of because the traditional Hemi. Originally designed for use in NASCAR racing, and put underneath the hood of the Plymouth Belvedere, it was so quick it bought banned. Well, banned is not precisely the proper phrase, however the varied racing governing our bodies required that or not it’s offered to the general public to qualify to be used in racing.

Fastest 426 Hemi Muscle Cars

(Performance stats sourced from Automobile Catalog)

To meet these homologation necessities, the 426 Street Hemi, with twin inline four-barrel carburetors, was shoehorned into the 1965 Dodge Coronet after which discovered its manner into the total Mopar line. This transfer successfully gave Mopar the crown in the classic muscle car era, as not one of the different automakers made something that might catch it. As such, Hemi-equipped rides just like the Charger, Challenger, and Barracuda grew to become road legends that no person wished to line up towards.

Semi-Issues With The Hemi

As superior because the 426 Hemi was, it wasn’t excellent. Performance-wise, sure, nevertheless it was large and heavy, gaining the nickname “the elephant engine”, and there have been some monetary points with it as nicely. Because of its dimension and complexity, the 426 Hemi was extraordinarily costly to provide, and clearly, that value was handed on to the patron, which restricted its manufacturing. MotorTrend studies that solely round 9,000 426 Hemis have been optioned in a Dodge or Plymouth from 1962 to 1972.

While the rarity of the engine is nice information for fans at present, who can get top-dollar for a matching-numbers Hemi-equipped Mopar, it did not make a lot enterprise sense within the late Sixties. There was no benefit in producing an costly engine that hardly anybody purchased, so Chrysler got down to develop a similarly-powered engine that was cheaper and had extra mass-market attraction. Thus, the Ball-Stud Hemi venture was born, to not solely exchange the 426, however all of Mopar’s huge V-8s.

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Enter The Ball-Stud Hemi

In addition to the 426 Hemi being too costly, Chrysler had one other drawback in that their big V-8s were all built on different blocks. All the Chevy huge blocks, from 348 to 632 cubic inches (5.7-10.4 liters) are bored from the identical block, which retains manufacturing prices down. On the opposite hand, a Chrysler 383 was a B block, the 440 an RB block, and the Hemi was an RB block, however completely different from the opposite RB blocks. To solidify its huge engine line-up, Chrysler started growing a unified block to interchange the 383, 400, 440, and 426 within the late Sixties.

While “Ball-Stud Hemi” type of sounds naughty, it was named after the ball-stud-style rocker arms it used. Originally meant to come back in 396 and 440 cubic-inch configurations, that was upped to 400 cubic inches for the smaller of the 2 and 444 cubic inches for the bigger one as a result of Chrysler felt 444 was an awesome quantity to market. Coming up with a wholly new block, heads, and port design, the prototype barely ran. After a couple of yr of intense growth, engineers labored out the kinks and came up with a solid engine.

The Ball-Stud Hemi Is No BS

Officially designated the A279 and affectionately often known as the BS Hemi, the Ball-Stud Hemi was something however BS. It was by no means meant to be a racing engine, nevertheless it did pack some good efficiency. Or not less than that’s what the rumors are. There aren’t any official dynos to show it, however the 444 BSH apparently did higher than a 440 with a four-barrel, however not fairly nearly as good as a 426 with two inline four-barrels. The BS Hemi was 6.5 inches narrower than the 426 and because of the brand new heads, weighed 100 kilos much less.

Engine Power Comparison

Fall Of The Ball-Stud

With an affordable high-performance engine able to go, the Ball-Stud Hemi appeared like a slam dunk and was set for manufacturing in 1972, however there have been evil forces at work that doomed the venture. First, there can be appreciable expense for gear and retooling to mass-produce the BS Hemi, which would not have been a significant challenge if not for the second factor. In the early Nineteen Seventies, a world oil disaster prompted fuel costs to soar and even created shortages.

Consumers started on the lookout for fuel-efficient autos and the marketplace for gas-guzzling road machines bottomed out. Also, this was a time during which the federal authorities mandated gas financial system requirements and emission rules, which resulted in the radical detuning of big V-8s. There wasn’t a lot level in constructing a brand new 400-plus cubic-inch engine if it did not have any horsepower and most of the people did not wish to purchase it. Chrysler ultimately pulled the plug on the Ball-Stud Hemi venture, sending it into obscurity.

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The Ball-Stud Hemi Lives!

Estimates are that as many as a dozen Ball-Stud Hemi engines have been constructed, however that quantity might be nearer to simply three. One quantity that is not in dispute is that of the surviving instance, which is a single engine. Though it’s unclear how he acquired such a chunk of Mopar historical past, legendary drag racer Dick Landy was in possession of the Holy Grail Ball-Stud Hemi engine for a few years. Landy was well-known for blowing doorways off in modified Mopars, so perhaps he had an in at Chrysler and was gifted this uncommon engine.

Dick Landy Racing Career Highlights

• Drove the primary Hemi 426 to win an NHRA race
• Became the primary “stocker” to hit 130 MPH in a quarter-mile
• Won the 1968 road class on the NHRA Winternationals
• Won the 1970 NHRA Winternationals
• Placed second on the 1972 NHRA Summernationals

Ball-Stud Sacrifice

With the rarity of being one in every of one, it will be assumed that the Ball-Stud Hemi can be untouchable, however Landy offered the engine to somebody who bored it out, changed the rotating meeting, and modified the consumption manifold. This is like portray an unibrow on the Mona Lisa or gluing some arms on the Venus de Milo, however the defiled engine did reportedly crank out 500 horsepower. Almost as dangerous, the BS Hemi was dropped into a rare notch-back 1969 Barracuda, which might have been extra worthwhile in its unique matching-numbers configuration, particularly if it was a 426 Hemi automobile.

The BS Hemi Belongs In A Museum

BangShift tells us that the Ball-Stud Hemi-equipped ‘Cuda was raced for a few years, and bounced round a number of homeowners earlier than ending up in gasser drag racer Tom Hoover’s storage. From there, it discovered a number of extra homeowners after which ultimately ended up on show on the National Auto and Truck Museum of the United States in Auburn, Indiana. Something this uncommon and wonderful belongs in a museum where it can be appreciated for each its historic significance and its engineering magnificence.

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Legacy Of The Hemi Engine

The story of this mysterious and elusive Hemi is nice, nevertheless it additionally looks like a disgrace that it by no means bought launched in manufacturing for Phase II of the Mopar muscle automobile legacy. Imagine how killer a 1973 Challenger, which nonetheless had the fundamental styling of the legendary ’70, would have been with a 400-plus horsepower BSH as a substitute of the 245 horsepower parody engine it got here with. There’s most likely no manner this cheaper Hemi variant might have saved the classic muscle car era, nevertheless it positive is enjoyable to consider.

Modern Hemi Engines

• 5.7-liter V-8 (340–390 horsepower)
• 6.1-liter V-8 (425 horsepower)
• 6.2-liter Hellcat (707 horsepower)
• 6.2-liter Demon (840 horsepower)
• 6.2-liter Hellephant (1,000 horsepower)
• 6.4-liter 392 (525 horsepower)

It additionally provides Mopar followers an awesome story to inform across the campfire; the Legend of the Ball-Stud Hemi. It’s like a ghost story, a fish story, and historic mythology, wrapped in a high-revving package deal. The 426 Hemi additionally bought the boot within the early ’70s, however the iconic Hemi engine would discover new life within the 2000s, persevering with its legacy. These engines would outline the fashionable muscle automobile period with some engines having more power than advertised. The Ball-Stud Hemi is a part of the dwelling historical past of Mopar’s efficiency that continues to terrify all of the suckers who line up towards it.

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Hemi Engines You Didn’t Know About

The Ball Stud Hemi is likely to be the rarest of the Hemi engines to exist and, because it’s presently a one-of-one, it’s most likely probably the most worthwhile engine of its form. But similar to the Ball Stud Hemi engine that was constructed out of necessity, there are different uncommon Hemi engines value mentioning.

Chevy LS Hemi: Chevy’s LS engine is without doubt one of the most well-known engines on this planet with a wealthy evolutionary historical past. The LS has been recognized primarily as a pushrod engine, however a person named Greg Brown decided to make a Hemi-LS mashup. The Hemi head was initially made for a small block Ford engine, however there have been some similarities with the LS head which led to this creation. Some inside modifications needed to be made to get every thing to work, and it was unveiled on the 2017 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) present.

Nick Arias Jr. Small-Block Ford Hemi: Ford and Hemi engines aren’t unusual. Ford made Hemi engines within the ’60s. Ford had dropped Hemi engine designs within the 80s, however somebody determined to construct a contemporary model of Ford’s engine. Engine builder Nick Arias Jr made a hemispherical head conversion for the Ford Windsor engine together with different alternative upgrades to make an exceptional engine that was proven on the 2012 Engine Master’s Challenge.

Oldsmobile Four-Valve W43 Hemi: In the 60s and 70s when firms like Chrysler, Ford, and Hemi have been experimenting with their Hemi engines, Oldsmobile was engaged on an engine of their very own. But earlier than it might go into manufacturing, the oil disaster put an finish to it. Only old pictures that were made available present the existence of this engine.

Car Companies That Also Had Hemi Engines

American automobile firms weren’t the one ones to make hemi-powered autos, different European and Japanese firms made hemispherical engines and so they embody:

• Alfa Romeo
• Aston Martin
• Jaguar
• Lamborghini
• Lancia
• Lotus
• Mercedes-Benz
• MG
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Porsche
• Toyota