OK,, I found a 1956 Dodge 354 Hemi motor, it's a 4 bbl motor, and it's all there and a good deal to boot. What do i need to know about these motors? (Good & the bad.) Are parts easy to get for it? Do they make aftermarket cams and all? Any problems with this motor? I will be picking it up tomorrow either way, but what to know more about it. Thanks..
most likely a 270 or 315 in a 56 Dodge, most of the Hemi's i've bought were said to 392's and haven't got one yet. there all good
354 Dodge is probably a truck motor and it's actually a Chrysler with no name valve covers - unless its the super rare 1957 D501 with dual quads, in which case it's actually a super rare and super desirable Chrysler 300B engine with no name valve covers.
Fingers crossed it's a 354, but i'll take whatever it is.. I'll be getting it in a few hours and i'll look up the #'s when i get there. The father pulled it out of the car himself so i know it's a p*** car motor, so the year could be wrong. He's had it in the garage for many years. I just happen to be in the right place at the right time, for once.. >> Also, i heard i can use a small block chrysler 904 or 727 trans on these motors. Is this true.??
I actually have a 1956 "Dodge truck" Hemi, like the one you speak of. It is a Chrysler motor and was originally planted in a Dodge truck, probably a utility truck or school bus, or something. My heads are listed as 1956 standard 354 heads though. Obviously a transplant somewhere along the way. The valve covers would probably be blank, as well. OH! And your 354 may actually be a 331. Some of the truck motors were actually based on a 354 casting, but only bored to 331 at the factory so a long service life could be obtained from the engine.
Well, it's here. He said it was pulled out of a p*** car for sure, he pulled it. I looked it up, it is a 354 Chrysler , Says > Fire Power on the Vavle covers, he gave me everything, water pump set -up, exh manifolds, 4 bbl intake, back spacer, pulleys, extra v/c's, and it had a daul point dist in it from back then, I have it also. And the motor spins fine. Here are the front #'s> NE56 29054 Here is what i found> <TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>NE56-1001</TD><TD> </TD><TD align=middle>1956</TD><TD> </TD><TD align=middle>Chrysler</TD><TD> </TD><TD align=middle>354</TD><TD> </TD><TD align=middle>9:1</TD><TD> </TD><TD align=middle>280</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Let me know what you find on it.
Congrats. Time to start spending $$$ and having fun. But be warned, hemi's are addictive!!! Start reading here. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118764
Great combo... love those 33/34's. that 1001 serial # would indicate it's the SECOND 354 used in '56... correct me if I'm wrong but I think they started at 1000.
Looks like a regular old 354 to me. Not sure where the truck part came in, but that is a great start! Get it going and report back! Tons of great information here and lots of knowledgable people to answer all your questions. Just start reading and do your research. First thing you should do is pick up the Tex Smith book "The complete Chrysler Hemi". That will cover a wide range of questions and examples of things for you.
Thanks folks, I've been going over some post on here about the Hemis, and there is alot of them, with great info. Also, It could have been any hemi motor and i would still be happier than a pig in s**t,, lol I know two things about them already, they are friggin BIG & HEAVY.
You did good. 354s are in the opinion of many, the best Chryslers out there. The heads are better than 392 heads and are pretty rare because the fuel racers used them all up on '92 blocks. Nice score.
Thanks, always good to hear when you get a good deal. I'm going to look up the heads again tomorrow, i looked tonight, but i was off a #, but it looked to be the original heads to the motor with the 3's i had right.
Hi, if you got a 354 there you did good (I guess everybody agrees). about a hunderd pounds lighter that the '92 being the lower deck version. Easily bored and stroked to 4X4 too, makes about 400 cu.inches. Seems obsolete to many now but the more valve train you put to it the higher it'll rev & really makes power. Good luck with it.
Congrats Its good to know another old hemi will be coming back to life.A 33 plymouth with an old hemi is about as good as it gets.Can't wait to see the finished product.
Thanks folks, It will probabaly be a slow process as i have about 5 other friends cars to build first, not counting the work on my daughters 2 T/A,s this winter, But i will pull it apart in the next few weeks and start getting the machine work out asap. I'm also putting an old axle set up back in it over the winter, so putting the heavy weight up front shouldn't be a problem with the spring combos avalible these days. Well, back out in the garage. I need the wood burner hooked up, asap,, it's getting cold around here and the gas heater cost to friggin much to run these days. That will take away from the hemi money, and that's not going to happen,, so back to wood.
Yep they are heavy, but strong, and that 354 is a good engine to start with. Should go really good with the Torqueflite. You may find that the cast iron Torqueflite (56-60 I believe) may be better and a lot less costly to install and the older torque converters were pretty stout with a 2.76:1 stall. Of course you would be looking for a 57 or 58 from a 392 car, or possibly a Desoto or Dodge with hemi if their bell patterns are the same, not sure about that.
Not sure what 'more valve train' refers to, but for a street driven rod the Hemi does not need to spin very high...its not a small block...and with the basic hot rod parts they will make gobs of low speed torque that will spin the tires just about anytime you ask. .
Dry weight: 354 = 737 lbs. 392 = 767 lbs - where do you get 100lbs or is that just one of those unresearched and inaccurate throwaway remarks? And I'm trying to figure out this impressive techno sounding babble "the more valvetrain you put to it the higher it'll rev".WTF
Well, the valvetrain is HEAVY and doesn't like rpm w/o some modifications. Can you say $$$ ? Old school stuff like rev kits and Gotha rockers are pretty tough to find these days. That said hemi's like a load and put out a lot of torque.
Buy the book: The Complete Chrysler HEMI Engine Manual by Ron Ceridono. It's a great book. Ebay has them for sale all the time. Also go to: www.hothemiheads.com Make sure you wallet has plenty of Ben Franklins in it.
Those hemis are great the angle that the cylinders are placed at is great. you get way more power out of a stroke than a stock 350
I'm not to sure yet if i'm going with a 727 trans or a 4 speed, time will tell. But i did find all the adapters for both. I also pulled the heads off today and it look very good inside. Some of the intake ports had some rust buildup from moisture & sitting all those years with no intake, but it really looks good, no cylinder damage at all, Knock on wood,, lol Now a few questions, It is a 9-1 motor, i'm thinking of going to 10-1, either bigger piston or just shave the heads a bit. it will be bored , probably .030, it has a ridge. and is it worth going with bigger valves? i think it's a 1:90 intake, so i was thinking 2:??. If i go this route, do i need to notch the pistons to clear the bigger valves? I am going with an up-dated remote oil system, and probably a BBC water pump set up. I would also like to find adjustable rockers so i can run a little bigger cam, Or can i run a bigger cam with the stock rockers after the heads are shaved? I have been doing alot of research and finding very helpful websites for parts such as HotHeads. And i always appericiate the help i get from this site the most,. The people on here are the, "Been there, Done that" people. So i can learn the good without doing the bad & without going thru the headache of learning the hard way. So Thanks in advance for all the help..
No on the valves> This would at least save me some cash. But wouldn't it make more HP, or am i better off just keeping it a strong cruiser. I do want to run it a few times a year. Stock w/p> The bbc looks cleaner and looks to be a lot lighter set-up. An on your blog the car you show in there has a BBC w/p on it, looks good to me,, lol And the adj push rods> This is a good thing, has to be cheaper than a rocker set-up and they are the same as the old Harleys i take it... Thanks for the tips..
Yep, you caught me!!! 1 of my 2 regrets on the build!!!! I plan to change it. I just dont think it looks right. I got ****ered into think you cant get stock ones and jumped on the bbc bandwagon ...then found out that is not true (credit Desoto for seting me straight), you can get them and you can get rebuild kits.
No supply problems with stock pumps, we have rebuilt units almost all of the time. The best part of using stock parts is simply saving alot of money and not having to figure out the pulley and bracket issues. You also get to keep the mech fuel pump with the stock parts, again save a bunch of $$$. And... Do not cut the heads trying to build compression, buy the correct piston and do it right. .
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