The flathead took a **** in my '53 Desoto. I'm set on doing a v8 swap in the car, and a local guy I know has offered me a 409. The '53 engine bay is allready setup to accept a hemi. So I was just wondering the physical size difference between a chevy W-motor and a hemi
The Hemi is a very wide motor at the outside of the heads, the 409 is not much larger than the modern smallblock chevy. should be an easy fit in the Desoto
I've got a 409 here that is 24" wide at the widest point (top of the exhaust ports) and a tall deck Desoto that is 27" wide (outside of the head/valve cover). But the exhaust ports on the hemi basically point down and the 409 point outward. So I think it's probably a toss up as far as fit goes.
The 409 would be cool to use in the old girl !.....you'd be the first guy on your block to have one !
Man, I feel like I'm the only one in the state cruisin a '53 Desoto. So a Desoto with a 409 would be ***s.
A Desoto Hemi block is relatively compact compared to a Chrysler. The tall deck DeSoto is a stroker motor that makes torque, if you can find a complete one, that would be a good choice. The '53 would have had a low deck 276. I would build a 265 flathead unless you have a deep budget.
My 341 Desoto is right at 28" wide overall. The good part is that the exhaust is under the head and points straight down so they aren't usually a problem as far as overall width is concerned. Width is the drawback and looks are the benefit. Bill
a 392 is narrower than a sbc till you get at the heads. lot of early Hemi powered Rails were converted to bracket racers with small block chevs and had to widen the ch***is to get them in
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