Project HEMI 55

[chevynut]

I have been working with a local (Colorado) guy named Steve on a C4 chassis build proposal for his 55 2DHT. He's really a Mopar lover, and has a couple of them, a nice late 60's Charger and a Cuda. He has always liked 55 Chevys to so he bought one and wants to do something unique with it. Steve contacted me and asked if it was feasible to install a 426 HEMI in a C4 conversion frame. I told him just about anything's feasible with enough time and money.

He bought a foam mockup block that I've put in a frame we've been building and have been doing some measuring for clearances. The tough thing is he doesn't want to cut the firewall, since it's already smoothed and ready for paint. So I have no choice but to move the engine forward as far as I need to for clearance. The oilpan he brought over has a center sump so it has to go since it hits the k-member....we'll find one with a rear sump. The HEMI engine has a skirt that extends below the main caps, so we can actually cut the front of the oilpan to make it flat to clear the steering rack since it sits over the top of it in that forward position.

I don't know for sure what he plans to do in the front of the engine but the water pump pulley extends all the way to the radiator support. He's going with a cross-flow radiator but the fan situation may be an issue. Personally I'd go ahead and cut the firewall and move the engine back some, but I don't know if I can get him past that roadblock. Plus the engine is 30" wide across the heads. He's kinda hung up on the fact that the body is in the body shop ready for paint and doesn't want to modify it now. Engine positioning is just about the last thing we do so we have time to figure that out.

I have done some measurements for hood clearance since he plans to use stack-type injection in the car. I think I can get him about 12" from the top of the engine block to the bottom of the hood. He says he can make the stacks shorter if needed so I hope that's enough clearance. I am unsure of transmission tunnel clearance and I'm betting he doesn't want to cut the tunnel either. We're trying to find a tri5 cowl section to see if it fits.

Here's a couple pictures of the foam mockup engine in a frame we used to build a clip that's going to Connecticut next week.

20140930_001.jpg 20140930_002.jpg

I told him I can build the frame, locate the engine where he wants it and build the engine mounts but making everything else fit into his car is his responsibility in the end since I don't have the car to work with. He may need some custom headers too.

His frame will be a seamless one with an AME center section, C4 Dana 44 HD rear, C4 front suspension, the HEMI and a Chrysler automatic transmission.

[56-210Sedan]

Good Grief, that Hemi is a monster in that frame and can clearly see the issue with the water pump. Could he get away with a electric water pump or would that even cut down on the size?. http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C...26cadevice%3Dc

[NickP]

Very cool, reminds me of the old days when we put all kinds of power plants in front of the steering wheel. Keep us updated and thanks for sharing.

[MP&C]

Stack Injectors should be proudly through the hood!

[chevynut]

Marty, I'm not sure if an electric water pump will solve the problem but he's mentioned it. From the block to the front of the water pump pulley is 6 3/4".

He told me that based on my measurements the project is a "go" so I'm working on a contract and statement of work, as I always do. We're going to go ahead with the project and build the rear first. Then we'll build the basic front clip and do some more engine mockup work on it. I want to install a radiator support and take a look at his engine accessories and how they might work with a pair of electric puller fans. He wants to install A/C so pusher fans are out since I know there's no room for them on a 55, and I really don't like pushers. I'm not sure at this point whether we're going with an early or late front end, as the early front end may provide more clearance for headers since the engine is so wide. We'll have to figure that out.

I think somehow we'll make this work, even if it takes firewall modification. It seems like he really wants to do this and we have to make everything fit somehow.

One more thing.....the oil pump on a HEMI is right where the steering rack plumbing goes and it has an oil filter there. I think we can make it work with a remote oil filter.

[chevynut]

Stack Injectors should be proudly through the hood!

He doesn't want to cut the hood. If he did, we would have more options.

[567chevys]

Very cool, reminds me of the old days when we put all kinds of power plants in front of the steering wheel. Keep us updated and thanks for sharing.

Hi Nick ,

The 55 you sold Jon .

He is having a Viper Motor installed in it .

Sid

[chevynut]

He is having a Viper Motor installed in it .

I'll bet he doesn't get away without cutting the firewall on that one!

[markm]

He doesn't want to cut the hood. If he did, we would have more options.

I did not cut my super nice stock hood for my tunnel ram. I bought another hood with a hole in it at a swap meet for $35.

[Rick_L]

So you think he should put a $35 POS hood on it and cut away?

[carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)]

size matters, that is one big engine. would luv to see that 55 when its done. money does talk.

[chevynut]

Today I got the frame stripped of all the unused original brackets and the front clip cut off, and it's ready to go into the frame jig. I think I have to prep a k-member but we're not sure if we're going with an early or late C4 front end.

We're shooting to have it done by Thanksgiving.

[Run-em]

Seems as how he is building a ride ass-backards. One solution is to lengthen the chassis in front of the firewall and lengthen the windshield cowl and front fenders. Bet he might reconsider on cutting the firewall that is ready for paint!

[chevynut]

Run-em, that's funny. But we're trying to find a solution that will require the least amount of work and $$.

One issue is that the body is in a shop in central CO and the frame is at my shop in northern CO. They're around 2.5 hours apart. I have suggested that we take a look at his radiator, fans, engine accessories, and other factors and see what needs to be done to make it all work together. I think Steve has a reasonable head on his shoulders and will end up doing what needs to be done to make the car work. But neither of us want to force something that doesn't need to be forced, and I want to try to get him to the best solution.

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that if the firewall has to be modified, this is going to require a custom firewall solution. Most of the firewalls I've seen are set back about 24-25" wide, but this engine is at least 30" wide. In fact, it just occurred to me that it's going to most likely require some brake pedal/booster considerations too. Any of this can be done, it just depends on the time and budget.

[chevynut]

Steve came over yesterday and we did a mockup of the engine, radiator support, firewall, and looked at some headers he had from his Hemi 'Cuda. With the back of the passenger head touching the stock firewall, the front of the water pump pulley would be roughly touching the back of a radiator in the 6-cylinder position. The HEMI head is about 1/2" longer than a BBC, and with the water pump attached the engine is at least 3" longer, maybe more.

So we're convinced that he will have to cut his firewall and recess it, as I suspected. I have recommended that he doesn't make any decisions as to how much to recess it until we finalize the engine location. I have also recommended that he get a SPAL dual 11" fan like PRC uses, and we can put it in the radiator support and locate the engine based on that fan setup.

In order to maximize the header clearance, we decided to keep the k-member low in the frame. So we're doing a 2" front suspension drop instead of our normal 3". He doesn't want a really low car anyhow, so this works well. And he can lower it more with his coilovers if he wants to. We also decided to go with a late C4 front suspension because he likes it better.

Steve thinks hood clearance isn't a problem because he can make the injector stacks as short as he needs to. So we're planning to keep the engine relatively high in the frame, in about the same position it would be with a 3" suspension drop. That will give us more header clearance from the C4 uprights. When the k-member goes up, the engine has to go up because it sits over the steering rack.

What surprised me was that his HEMI Cuda header from the driver's side fit almost like it was made for this application, based on a rough mockup. The passenger side is a no-go so we'll have to find some other headers or manifolds. This may require modification of an off-the-shelf header set or a custom built set.

So we're ready to start building the front end. I have the rear nearly completed.