LAVOIE AND ADAMS MAKING A NEW 392 HEMI Veteran nostalgia racer Claude Lavoie and legendary Hemi engine builder and tuner Gene Adams have collaborated to develop and produce a brand new, improved version of the old Chrysler 392 block. Adams told DRO that the block will feature Siamesed cylinders, thicker main webbing, splayed main caps and other improvements. Any aftermarket Hemi cylinder head except a Donovan will bolt onto the block as well as all of the stock Chrysler parts. They plan to cast both steel and aluminum versions with the aluminum coming in 40 lbs lighter than the steel version. Look for these blocks to make their debut at next years March Meet. (Darr Hawthorne photo) [10/18/10] http://www.dragracingonline.com/agent1320/2010/1320-xii_10-12.html
Fully polished aluminum 392.....mmmmmmmm......tasty. I wonder what the price on it will be. If it were in the cards I wouldn't mind scooping one up to build from.
Niiiiiiiiice! I suspect that the asking price on one of those puppies will be more than the combined price of everything I own and the naming rights to my first born though... Still, awesome to see them being made again.
Pricey or not, they should be able to take a lot more abuse than the old iron stockers. If you want to see pricey go see what a Donovan block will cost you!
Claude showed me the prototype aluminum water block at Bakersfield last weekend and it looked good. It was just the rough casting but the definition was good and it has all of the factory mounting lugs so it will be a bolt in replacement. The John Rodeck billet version that the NT/F cars use was around $7500 the last I heard and Alan Johnson told me that his billet heads were around $4800 a pair so anything cheaper than that will be a plus. Roo
Do all the Hot Heads heads have their name etched in? I would look into a pair if I could get them without.
I bet you would be money ahead with the new block. By the time you find an original block and have the machine work done, you'll probably be about the same money. With the new block I'm sure its a lot stronger and would be less headaches down the road. I know when I was buying a block for my BBC it wasn't worth it to use a stock block. I went with a bowtie block and now I could go 582ci instead of 496ci. The bowtie block was roughly 2500 compared to 1500 for a machined stock block. Plus if you're spending big money on a motor. I like the added insurance of a heavy duty block, that is designed to be beat on. All that being said it depends on the application. If you're just building a warmed up stocker I'm sure the stock block is more the enough. But you're looking to build a drag motor,right? For the heads you could just weld up the logo and mill it off.
what is a first born worth these days? My son is being a shit today and I do need a new hemi block! I kid, If I traded him who would ride with me?
Considering how much folks piss and whine about stock parts I doubt that many of these $4k block will end up on the street. Yeah, there will a few. Even in this economy, there are some who still have more money than..... Racers? whole different story. .
“Siamesed” cylinders : as quoted above, won't be on the street... Very nice stuff for drag racing....
In the long run the new blocks will be cheaper and can go bigger and last longer. No doubt a lot of nickle will be added to the cast mix like all HiPo blocks .
this is good news,but one question,did anybody think about longating the oil pan rails for side bolt main caps ? like a girdle ?
I think you will find that between the full webbing and new main caps a girdle will not be needed. The first blocks will be cast iron. The aluminum will follow.
Yeah I will be looking for a purposeful built engine but I'm really only shooting for between 400-500 hp on my motor eventually. It won't be beaten on everyweekend but I'm gunnin for that Yay-Hoo cup one day!!! I have a '51 block right now but the aluminum would be soooooooo cool. Good thinking on the heads.
I love the idea of an all aluminum fully-polished 392 hemi. Although, I'm willing to bet that the block will end up be designed more for drag racing then street uses. Given that Lavoie runs a Nostalgia Funny Car, and just ripped off a career best 5.88 e.t. this past weekend in Bakersfield.
Sure they will. Chevy 400 small blocks are a siamese block. The 426-based Hemi "Maxx Blocks" are siamese bore, as are a lot of the big big blocks out there. Hell, some of the LS blocks are siamese bores. Siamese bore blocks are fine on the street. As someone said earlier, after finding a usable core, machine work and upgrades to decent main caps (and ARP fasteners), it's probably close to even money. But of course, when you sling a rod through an iron block, you're back to square one. Buy an aluminum block, and it's the last block you'll have to buy. You can cut one apart with a band saw, and a good machinist can weld it back together. -Brad
I'm wondering why Donovan heads aren't supposed to work. Valve train differences or something? Tom S.
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