last year at a show here in Austin I saw a little T rod powered by a Toyota aluminum block Hemi head V/8 and in a magazine here lately a 31 by Carl Fisher from Arizona with an aluminum block 224ci Hemi head V/8 built by Yamaha in the Sixties..any youse guys know the whereabouts of such an engine, leads on how to find one, who to talk to? I don't think these engines were imported to the States...Welll,, I do have a Datsun 1600 "Fairlady" roadster, anyone interested in a car called a Fairlady?....
The t that you are talking (I think) was probably painted black and red and was originally built in Tulsa. It was a very nice looking car and knowing who built it I think if was probably done right. From what I remember the engines were in Toyota's that were primarily sold in Australia. Don't remember all of the details but I'm sure some of the Tulsa guys know more about it than I do. If nobody pipes in with more info PM me and I can find out what Toyota models they were in.
I beleive they were used in their luxo/limo cars of the 60s 70s, sold mainly in Asia and very few found their way across the pond. As 41woodie suggested, I'll bet the Aussie HAMBers will chime in with more info.
clicking the little search link on the top helps out sometimes... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100940&highlight=toyota+hemi
It was oz rodders who discovered the engine but it was never sold here in anything.The japanese had a lot of home market limos that were only sold in japan and thats where the engines came from . Toyota Century etc . They were built by the Kanto motor comapy under contract to Toyota and are very exclusive .i have a mate who bought one back from Japan,with a state of the art broadband connection (!!) ,vibrating rear seat for m***age etc etc etc it's far better equipped than any lexus ever built. Go back a few years and theres a lot of postings on here about them . Including this by Carps' " Yup, the little V8 has been around even longer than the four banger. In fact the T series four was derived from the V8 as used in the top spec Crown and the hand built Century Limo. Both thos models were for domestic consumption only although a few Centuries were exported for Diplomatic use. It started with a cast iron block and 2.5 litre capacity. Tose are naturally the oldest and also least desireable. By the early sixties it was all aluminium and the capacity had increed to 2.8 litres. The later engines were 3.0 or 3.5 litres with the 'big blocks' sporting electronic fuel injection in place of the compact and very slick looking four barrel Mikuni carbs. The engine ceased production in 1998 and they are still available if you know where to look."
The guy that did the upholstery in my '55 in Santa Maria, Ca."Jack's Upholstery" had a '56 Chevy that ran one of these Toyota HEMIs. First time I saw it was at the all chevy show near Buellton,Ca. Maybe he'll have it out over the WCK Santa Maria show?
Just trying to keep the thread alive and maybe find someone that can provide a lead on where to find one..any info on the Yamaha Hemi?..Carl Fisher are you on the HAMB?....
These are becoming harder and harder to find. They were only ever fitted only to very Early Crown saloons and of course Century's I do have a large text somewhere here where I detailed much about the engines, however it's not in this computer and may take some time to track down. There's also some information Chocko and I provided in Ron Ceridono's book, 'The Complete Chrysler hemi Manual' published by Tex Smith a few years back. I've also posted some lengthy and informative stuff both here and on the RRT. How you find it now, if it is still here somewhere, I have no idea. They have been out of production since the early nineties when they wer replaced by a 5 litre 12 cylinder version of the Lexus V8. On the other hand, just because they are hard to get, doesn't mean they are no good. They are as bullet proof as anything from the T company and there's quite a few SBF and other more common engine parts will interchange or adapt in order to keep them running or make them faster. If you find an all aluminium version, grab it, they are the rarest. Also try and grab one with the trans attached, a lot easier in the long run and the Toyota/Jatco transmissions are also pretty much bulletproof. That little black T was indeed built right and it runs like a scalled cat. I spent some time talking with the guy who built it at Louisville in '99 as he was staying at the same motel. The banger in the blue T coupe, for all intents and purposes, is basically half the Hemi V8. They were fitted to Corollas, Coronas and Celicas during the '6os and early '70s.
The aluminium blocks didn't arrive until the eighties. Before that the blocks were cast iron by Toyota and ***embled by Yamaha. Nope, but a few have found their way there. Mostly through Japanese parts end engine spe******ts, so that's probably as good a place as any to start looking. The one I had was a 'Fair *****!"
uhm..I have one of those that someone put in a station wagon, but it's going in my T project...home-made intake designed like the equal runner length F.I. intakes the mini-stock guys use with GM 2.5's and a good old Carter W1 (because I like them...)
Lots of good information there and a reminder why I'm so selective in what I read and post. I'm sure some of those arguments continue to rage and will do so forever. So for those interested in these bonafide and genuinely 'Hemi' engines from the T company, read carefully, follow the links, ignore the emotional clap trap and you'll learn a lot. And please remember this, the little T engine wasn't a rip off from Chrysler, it was taken from Peugeot who had a bonafide' Hemi some forty years before Chrysler corpration copied their cylinder head design (kinda ironic considering that the french also made the best flatheads). And the French company continued to use it long after Chrysler gave it away. Remember Lt Columbo's old Pugeot Convert?..... Hemi powered!
Chry. Hemi engine's heads are based on the WW2 hemi head V-16 inverted engine that powered the P-47 H model.
Considering the WWII V-16 was probably designed sometime around the late 30's early '40s, did they copy the proven French combustion chamber design? I don't know. I do know it wasn't a secret and either way, it doesn't change the fact that Pugeot did it long before, or that neither the Chrysler or Toyota designs are an original idea/design. And yes, that little black T roadster is the one who's owner/builder I met at Louisville. One very traditional and well built hot rod.
Ya can't "invent" hemisphere! It can only be applied to whatever requires a configuration of this type. Advantages: 1. Central sparkplug location = less total spark advance. 2. Straighter air/fuel path into combustion chamber. 3. Straighter exhaust path. 4. Extremely little valve shrouding.
I took some photos of a red T at a show in Melbourne's south east back around 2000. It was running a twin turbo version of one of these motors. Give me a little time, i'll dig it out of storage, scan it and post it.
The little black and red track t was built by a guy in Tulsa (as mentioned) named John Robison. His nine to five is working on Toyotas, so it was a natural fit. Really well done car. I'll pm you his contact info, he might be able to hunt up another engine. I know at one time, there was another t project in the area he was helping with rumored to have one of these engines too. I'm pretty sure that project has sold, but I don't think the engine went with it, so who knows?
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