Been bidding on a 53 Dodge Coronet that's on an online auction. The part of it that interests me is that it's equipped with a 241 Hemi engine. Yes, the Baby Hemi. But, I've never owned a Hemi engine before and now I can cross that one off my bucket list,. I wasn't able to go and inspect it in person but from the pictures the engine is complete. Unknown if it's locked up or not. If it's locked, I'll see if I can free it up. I've freed many locked engines in my life so I know that's a possibility. I really wasn't interested in the rest of the car, 4 door sedan. So I'll be parting the rest of it out. What I really don't understand is that the other 53 Dodge Coronet on the auction brought almost twice what I bought this one for. It looks better in the pictures but it's missing the Hemi engine and automatic transmission. If I was interested in putting a 53 Dodge Coronet 4 door sedan back on the road I'd have wanted both of them. I'd have actually bid more for the rusty complete one than the better looking incomplete car. I really really don't have any other plans for the Hemi than the challenge of seeing if I can get it running. It's one of those weird things I've always wanted to own a Hemi engine. One of my neighbors had an old tractor with a Hemi engine on it. I always wondered if I could get ahold of that one day but, when the neighbor got old and sick his son decided he was a s****per so he ended up selling most of the old neighbor's cars, trucks and tractors to the salvage yard. About enough to make me sick thinking about all the old iron he s****ped. Lots of 50's Ford pickups, old tractors and rows of cars. When was the last time you saw a 60 Ford 2 door sedan? Yep, now it's a Toyota. Happily, I'm now the proud owner of a Hemi! Could be I'm just a crazy man. Makes life interesting though. Well tomorrow is my 67th birthday, I'm en***led to be a crazy old Geezer. So I just gave myself a great birthday present. Now I'll have to drive my Super Duty with my gooseneck flatbed trailer up to the city tomorrow instead of my F150. Means I'll should get out early tear the p***enger door apart and see if I can get the latch on the door to work. I've got it strapped shut now. It's way too new of a vehicle for me. 2002, and it got so bad I couldn't shut the driver's door either. Had to take the door panel off and lube it up. My 1941 Chevy's doors open and shut like it did when it was new. Anything made in this century doesn't impress me! I'd better go before I ***** all night!
Baby Hemi's are some of the coolest engines around and they run out really well! Have fun with it. ironandsteele.com
Have fun! In '65-'66 I built a T "Bucket" with a clapped out 241 from a junkyard. A bit later, I bought a wrecked '55 Dodge with a good running 270 for $10 and added a 4 BBL. With a stock Dodge "plow box" 3 speed, 4.30 rear end gears, and a set of Ellingson's recap slicks, the car was a block to block terror. No fun to drive in the rain, though.
I never had a need for a Hemi as well, but dang sure would get one of the prices was right. Just to stash away and say “I got a Hemi”
Exactly why I bought this one, just so I can say I've owned one! I think the price is good, I watched a Hemi sell at an auction several years ago that was laying in a pasture. Hard telling how many years It'd been laying out there but it brought about what I gave for this whole car. I'd thought I'd bid on that one but it quickly surp***ed what I wanted to give for a pasture engine.
Indianola, Iowa, about an hour away from my farm. My wife is probably a little disappointed in me for buying this. I bought some other stuff on this auction but I could have gotten all that stuff in my F150, she'd rather ride in it. My Saturn sedan is broken down and our daughter has borrowed my wife's Hyundai Santa Fe because her husband renlisted in the Army so he's stationed at Ft Riley, Kansas and has their vehicle. So my wife has been riding in my F150 about every day. Sorry, I tend to get a little long-winded.
This was and still is my one and only HEMI!! A '55 331, 60 overbore. Delta Cam (Local out of Tacoma, Wash., Dual Edelbrock's, (new/now). Bought way back about 20 years ago at least, at the Corvett & high-performance swap meet at Puyallup Swap meet. A fellow Boeing Engineer had retired, was moving to Phoenix, had it in his flatbed trailer, I had seen it a week earlier in his garage at his place, it was out of his sons '38 Chev Coupe, and I didn't buy it then like a fool, meaning it would take more $$$ to rebuild one than what he was asking for this one) his kid wanted a Chev Big Block instead (no accounting for youth and stupidly), had this HEMI under wraps in the garage under wraps, WITH RECIPTS from complete a rebuild.from the Chev. dealer out on South tacoma.and also with a B&M HYDRO, out the door off his trailer into my shop for $2500.00. I callled and spoke to the shop to confirm thatthe rebuild was the truth and told him where I lived and to follow me home from the swap meet. I have added the air cleaner, found a pair of original sparks plug wire covers and have installed the best street ignition I believe I can find MSD. BTW CF, Just a warning things get expensive fast for these jewels of engineering. Those pair of original spark plug wire covers were the cheapest I ever saw. They were like new at the phoenix swap meet back in 2015 at $300.00 for the pair.
If that old Hemi the OP bought still turns over by hand, I would start at the point distributor to see if it would run. Not many modern mechanics have any idea how points systems work. My son bought a 54 Chrysler years ago because the guy said his mechanic couldn't get it to run, so he sold it cheap. About a 1/2 hour of messing with the dual point distributor (probably straightening out what he messed up) and I had it purring like a kitten. About a 1/2 hour later, we drove it up and back down the block.
I bought a 9N Ford tractor like that. It wouldnt run and the guy couldnt fix it. The distributor shaft was incredibly worn out.
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