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found this car today...i just wanted the engine but he will not part the car out...the engine is a fine running 331 hemi...the car is solid as a rock...very little surface rust...no cancer...$3,500...sorry i still don't seem to have this picture thing figured out...
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/o...4/IMG_1722.jpg
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I remember when I worked at a gas station in the summer of 1955, I would always make sure I raised the hood to check the oil on those beauties just to take a good look at the engine, the hemi is still an amazing engine and way ahead of it's time in 1954, unless of course you had a good look at an ARDUN Ford! It's not my story but I recall a HOT ROD article about a guy who broke his hemi at Bonneville but found a guy at a nearby motel and paid him some amount to pull the engine, swap all the speed parts to the stock hemi block, set a record and then return the engine to the Chrysler. If anybody remembers or knows that racer the details of the quick swap would be interesting! I agree a face lift restoration of this cruiser would produce something of historical interest, a time machine!
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
I wouldn't part it out either.
Couldn't bring myself to do it, no way.
in the ( go advanced ) mode click on the little box under the curved arrow .. it will say insert image ... when the box pops up delete the url ( http:// )code that automatically is in the box .. copy your photobucket url and insert it in the box ..http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/o...4/IMG_1722.jpg
the old car really does have a cool looking dash..but i do not like the body style or i would buy it...i'd like to have the engine but not the car...if any one is interested i can get you the number...he also has a 55 nomad...56 belair...55 belair and a 51 ford for sale...but they are already restored...i do not know this guy and i'm not trying to help him sell anything...just accidently ran into the cars...
peace
john
Yeah, it'd be a shame to wrap up a bunch of money in the car just to get the engine.... The old 331's are expensive to build and not that great an engine when they're done... Probably turn out better in the long run to just spend a few more bucks and get either a 392 or 426.... However, should you trip over a 413 Max Wedge in your search, let me know!!!!!!!;););)
will do Dave
peace
john
It was interesting to hear that the 331 hemi was not that great from Dave. I agree from present knowledge that is true. I think the main impact was when Chrysler announced the "300". At that time 300 HP on the street was really a step up, but today on this Forum it does not seem like so much. Going back to one of my favorite sites on the comparable ARDUN
http://www.oogabooga.ca/oogaboogapag40.htm
we see that it was only rated at 175 HP and yet even that was a major improvement when folks were trying hard to get 120 HP with bolt on speed equipment on a stock block flathead. That being said the value of the Chrysler 331 to me is the nostalgia effect and after all probably Chryler was trying to keep up with the earlier Cadillac OHV in the ''50-'53 which probably led to the SBC 265-283 etc. which took a while to get to 300 HP or above. Still allowing for a lot of "funny" looking cars from the '30s to '50s the big Chrysler is a nice cruiser if fixed up so a "restoration" with a motor rebuild/tuneup should yield something of interest that still keeps up with modern rods. Just for comparison, I recall driving the earlier straight-six Chrysler and it was bored out bigger than the Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto straight six engines and the Chrysler straight six performance was pretty good. The Hudon hornet proved that if you have enough displacement and a long enough hood a straight six could provide a lot of torque/performance so when Chrysler came out with the big V8 that was really news!
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
cniles, Saw this post when it first got posted and been figuring on it some. While $3,500 is a nice piece of change for "JUST" an engine, thats not really all you are getting. There is a 1954 Chrysler attached in there as well huh? Now that should be some trading matereal and a way to recoup some of that $3,500. Granted it is a 331 inch Hemi but you state "Nice Running" now Hemi's are expensive to build but this may have a few miles left in it, so the build part could be way down the road. Remeber Chrysler "Designed" the early Hemis for a mininum of 100,000 miles TTO ( time to overhaul). Now you have the performance things to worry about.
Nothing wrong about the performance Potential of the 331 Early Hemi. There are more desirable hemi's but that usually desired by some guy who doesn't own one. The 331 was only different from the commonly (called) more derirable 354 by an 1/8th of an inch bore. With the rest of the internals being the same. There is some difference in Valve flow and valve size most of the 331's had 1.81 Intakes and 1.150 ex while the 354's had a larger valve shared with some 1955 331's and most 392's at 1.94 intake and 1.75 ex and then the late 392's had the bigger valves for the early Hemi at 2.00 Intake. But the 331 can be made to run and run damn well. Increasing compression alone adds HP pretty fast in these motors and they could sure stand some more compression.
Your 1954 for sure "Should" have the short bell housing block and thats a good thing as well. The more a feller looks at this deal the better it gets in a way. Now you could get a 426 as is suggested but at somewhere south of $15,000 for an introduction 426 thats a long ways from $3,500. The 392's cost at least as much to build as the 331 or the 354, but PAW and maybe others sell complete 392's ready to roll but there price isn't cheap either at somewhere around $8,500 to $9,500.
Maybe if you don't buy this car you well share the sellers information and I will, the more I look at this the better it sounds.
Roland
Don, Thanks for posting that Ardun link cool looking at an add from when those first came out. Funny thing about the Ardun Flathead conversion that I didn't know, and that only the Intake Valve was moved to the head. Wonder what the price was for those "back in the day". There is a Hot Rod shop in Southern Ca selling repops of the Arduns today Sakowski Motors there price today $17,500 a pair.
Roland
hombre259...i will be glad to go get the guys information...i'm only in the states until the 4th of march and have been working on my house from sun up to sun down everyday...but will get the info...the guy lives in ocean springs, MS...says he drove the car here from florida...you may be able to drive it home...i'll be heading that way friday...
There was a 15,000 mile 54 new yorker around the Dayton Ohio area about 20 years ago.it belonged to a neighbor who abandoned it somewhere when he moved and I found it at a junkyard and after I told the yard owner the mileage was low it disappeared and never seen again. The story was a dope head bought it off the original owner and while high tore up the right rear quarter and door and in a stupor broke all the windows out and let it sit,his dad put new windows in and tried to install a desoto quarter and door and then my neighbor came up with it. So if anyone sees a baby blue 54 4 door with the right rear quarter and door all bondoed up with low miles and a trashed interior its probably my neighbors old 54 and I wish now I would of not said a thing to the yard owner and bought it. Jeff
this car is baby blue...but as you can see...these are all the original body panels...he has all the chrome pieces as well...again i'm NOT trying to help this guy sell the car...i don't even know the fella...but he won't part it out and i thought someone here might be interested in it