Thread: Early HEMI

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There doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there (for either stick or automatic). One alternative that has been done is to have the bellhousing extension cut off.

Before you dismiss the idea out of hand, consider that to mate a SB Chrysler bellhousing to the non-extended early hemi (the early hemi and small block Chrysler bellhouings bolt pattern is almost identical) you need a spacer that is about 1" thick to get the correct depth for the tranny input shaft. Commercial adaptors kit run in the area of $500. I don't know what it would cost to have the extension cut and retapped but by cutting less off of it you might be able to eliminate the cost of a kit.

Another area to watch out for is the pilot bearing. A lot of the early Hemi automatic cranks were not drilled for the input shaft of the tranny This one is pretty easy to get around however. You can either find a sealed bearing with the right OD for the torque converter pilot hole and ID of the input shaft, or if that's not available have one custom cut from a piece of bronze bar stock. Then all you have to do is shorten the end of the input shaft so it dosn't bottom in the hole.

If you go this route, a flywheel from a 57-59 Ploy stick car can be cut down to SB Chrysler ring gear size. It's only 6 bolt compared to the Hemi 8 bolt, but basically they just didn't drill 2 of the holes.

I'm currently doing a 4 speed conversion on a 56 354 (non-extended block) and I built my own adaptor for the swap. I can pretty much walk you through this if it's the way you want to go.