Well I looked at some Hemi's yesterday. Found a non running 392 (CE57)! The owner states it is a good motor and if i want it he will pull the head and oil pan so we can take a look to make sure its good! I got him down to 1800.00! I also, found a 354 (unknown numbers yet) unknown condition (yet). I think i can get for 500.00 or less! So whats do ya think! 392 OR 354? Is the 392 worth the extra cash? <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
i have had a car with a 392 and have another which i will be putting in another car soon, i have found that whenever anyone asked what it was they always seemed to have more respect for it knowing it was a 392. the 392 was the most powerful of all the early hemis, the dual quad version had 375hp. go for the 392 my $.02 anyway
Unless you are drag racing the car, or the 'respect' is all you're looking for, I'd go with the 354. Nothing wrong with those engines. Not worth the $1300 premium.
...random thoughts... ***uming that the 354 turns out to be a 354, what are you really going to get for the additional $1300 ? Ninety percent of the folks looking will not know the diff, so is it a big deal to you ? Do you need the big crank because you have a real heavy car? Some folks might suggest putting a 392 crank in the 354 block but after buying a crank and doing all of the needed machine work you will be at the same money. The cost to rebuild is virtually the same for either, ***uming that the same amount of work is needed and ***uming that you are not going to get cheap half-way through the job... I would stay away from all of the fancy alum eye candy and put the $1300 into parts: forged pistons, cam, electronic ign, modified intake, etc. A hot 354 is a powerful engine, more so than the displacement would suggest. Sua Sponte <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Well I contacted the guy with the 354! Guess what i got the block code and its a 1955 331! So still looking for a 354!!
You should be aware that a .060 overbore makes it a 354. The 55 331 has the best heads ever made. I must have bored at least 20 331's the .060 to make the 354 cube's, in fact I got one in my shop now I will bore when I get the pistons in. Edit = I should have said 60 off the wall or .125 total. Std is 3 13/16 to 3 15/16 after boring. Van
I will gladly pay the asking price for that 331 and hand you $200 finders fee. Got cash in my pocket and my truck is ready to go. Van 231-750-3429 cell
Nothing wrong with a 331 which has the short bell housing, it is a great engine and for $1,300 less then the 392... Buy them both, store the 392 in your garage, you'll be happy you did in a few years...
I met Gene Adams at the 07 Engine Masters Challenge. He built a 331 that turned 514hp and about the same torque. The thing that was really cool about that engine was that it was only 9.5:1, had stock port locations, was only .010 over, and was designed to make horsepower over 2500-6500 rpm on 91 octane. (to win the compe***ion, engines were run on the dyno from 2500-6500rpm, the average torque and average hp over that range was added together and then divided by the displacement. To win the engine had to have strong flat curves-meaning a fast and drivable street motor) Now, he did use Hot Heads, but it was an all original 331. The guys were joking around that when they torqued the heads down the outside of the block cracked, so they JB welded the crack. It was one of the lowest budget motors there and it was also built by a couple of old hot rodders, not like the other top engine built by top engine shops (for instance, John Kazze, SAM, Mckewn racing engines, etc...). The engine was simply amazing. I'd say roll with the 331. btw-look up gene adams-he wrote a lot of stuff on old HEMIs. Hes known for his work with old hemi and polyspheres on nitro. Did some amazing stuff in the day
Keep in mind that with a 354 or a 331 you get a nice looking rear sump oil pan and both engines have rams horn exhaust manifolds that can be used as is. The 392 has both an unattractive oil pan and the exhaust manifolds look fugly because they had to clear the torsion bars. Depends on what you want to do with the motor.
Man I need to have the problem that you have right now. I'd go with the 392 but only for the cool factor, either engine will make be great in a hot rod and in the end any hemi out cools everything else anyway IMHO.
I met Gene Adams back in the mid 70's. I sold him blocks and heads for his race car. He always wanted 55 heads. I bought his A/F front engine dragster which was at the time the record holder. Great man Van
Pull both heads. Not all 354's had rear sump pans and ram horn exhaust manifolds. For that matter, I'm not sure what version of hemi manifold you're referring to as rams horns. I thought that was pretty much an SBC thing.
Personally I think a 354 has as much appeal as the 392, especially when you go out and spank the 392 with one. Laugh, but it's happened a lot of times. Frank
Thank you Anderhart for this post. I got curious and dug up the specs on that motor. 460Tq/515Hp is what the motor made. Link
Well after looking at the link I might be more open to the 1955 331! I would still need to confirm it has 1955 heads!
I know the 331s and 354s share the same block! But, is all the internal the same? Are the wall thickness on a bored out 331 to 354 the same as stock 354? And if thats true then couldn't you take the displacement to even higher? lets say 30 over the 354 boring?
I did have a 331 that had been bored to 4.00 but that isn't the norm. Most take the 354 to 4.00 and the 331 to 3-15/16 Yes you could get another 20 or 30 later on if needed. I ***ume it's not going to see 90% nitro. Yes everything inside is the same right to the last bolt & nut. The 1954 head is also a winner & is the same but less the water port on the end. The 56 -354 head is no slouch and will run great on a rod. stay away from the 51-53 heads, easy to spot with the round exhaust port. most racers stay away from the 392 heads. Van
I must habe been lucky then that every 331 and 354 I owned ( and there were quite a few) had the same rear sump type oil pan. My bad. Maybe I should have called it a nice round center dump with a dip in the middle exhaust manifold. Sorry if I have offended your chevy nomenclature sensibilities. Its all good and I only wanted to help.
My New Yorker (1956) has those Chrysler "ram horns", so now I understand which ones you mean. As for other manifolds and oil pans, the different versions are likely from the many different applications the 354 was used in. Buses, trucks, irrigation pumps, boats, etc.
No, .125 is all that can be done safely, & that should be after a sonic check. Taken out to 4" it would have to be a filled block race motor that you would expect a short life span, ask Scooter about big overbores.
I'm going to follow up on the 331! see if i can make a deal! Owner also stated it had a spun bearing and missing one rod cap! I put a call in for him to check head to see if they are the 54/55 castings!
I just talked to a guy who has a 331 for sale. It all sounds good until we get to the bore size! The guy used some calipers and came up with a bore size of 3.87. I know a stock bore is 3.8125. and a stock 354 bore is 3.9375 My question is how much more can this block be bored, and still be a usable block? I'm sure it will need it when i rebuild it! <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
This is where a sonic measuring device comes in handy. Although many 331 have been bored to 354 std it is best to check the holes and see if any thin spots are lurking...these engines have core shift problems. Survey each hole and see what the numbers say. As far as rebuilding goes, you will need to measure each hole to determine out-of-round and taper, then decide how much more needs to be cut. As long as a ring set is available custom pistons can be made to any size. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=441622 .
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