Hey guys, Ive got this Industrial 354 with some sketchy center main caps on it. I cant for the life of me understand why Chrysler would do this. Im gonna run a 871 on it, not a dedicated "race car" but its definitely goanna take a beating now and then. So what do you hemi guys think ? Thanks ...
That’s not the best place to try and save weight. Possibly to fit a girdle or better yet a windage tray?
It actually looks like there are extra material that could be grinded away. Like our p***enger car 354 + the extra "lumps" on the side of the bolt holes.
My guess is a windage tray accommodation of some sort. Can't imagine the need for a girdle on huffing and grunting industrial engines. They did weird stuff with hemis. For example, they started out with a 'wet' intake manifold on 331s. Then they went to that strange thermostat crossover manifold on later engines. Also on 331s they followed Ford's lead and cast on extended bellhousings like on flathead Fords thru '53. Later engines had flat backs like most other V8s. On truck heads they cast on strange large bosses on the corners of the head. I have never seen these used to mount anything but I must ***ume they did at some time. Also on truck heads, they eliminated the Siameze ducts between the center exhaust ports used for manifold preheating then used engine coolant to heat the manifold and the ports are twice as tall as on p***enger car engines. To top it off they use sodium filled exhaust valves. Truck heads with bosses and tall heat crossover port. To use truck heads on p***enger engines I block the top half of the heat crossover and cur off the corner lugs. Also add new valve guides eliminating the big-stemmed sodium filled valves.
Looking at your photos it appears that the factory added material to the caps so they should be as strong as, maybe even stronger than, the p***enger car ones. Note this 331 block has screw holes to mount a windage tray whereas yours doesn't. Evidence the may have used a 'slip-on' tray on your industrial?
That's kind of what ive been told, that you could grind them nubs off to make them look like regular stock 354 caps, not that youd want to, id think the extra material if that's what it is, would only beef it up maybe.
The Jalopy Journal
