size matters, that is one big engine. would luv to see that 55 when its done. money does talk.
size matters, that is one big engine. would luv to see that 55 when its done. money does talk.
ARMY NAM VET, very proud!
56 210 4dr
drive and enjoy them while you work on them, life is to short.
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.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
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!
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.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
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.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
Here's a couple of mockup pics...
20141022_001.jpg 20141022_002.jpg 20141022_003.jpg
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
Over the weekend we built the rear shock crossmember for HEMI 55 and tacked it into the frame. I actually cut parts for 10 of them on my bandsaw, over 50 cuts in all . We built the front frame rails and got them fitted together ready for tacking. Today I ordered the AME center section parts so I can get started on assembling it when they arrive.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
Is the Hemi and BBC roughly weight the same? Assuming both same parts(iron or aluminum heads)
"Roughly" I would say the HEMI is heavier. I'm not sure about the block weight but the heads are huge. The blocks are similar in size. If they both had aluminum heads the difference would not be as much. I saw a reference that said a single iron HEMI head was 119 pounds.
I found this online:
OEM Mopar Engine Weights
Here's a small list of [approximate] weights for stock engines.
Note most of these are fully dressed engines with stock parts.
We all know the savings to be had with aluminum intakes, ect...
331/354 Hemi with alum. intake and water pump - 504
392 Hemi with alum. intake and water pump ------ 564
Slant 6 --------------------------------------------- 525
273-340 ------------------------------------------- 525
360------------------------------------------------- 560
361-400 ------------------------------------------- 620
413-440 ------------------------------------------- 670
426 Street Hemi ----------------------------------- 765
From personal experience (as reported by the engine builder):
my 426 Street Hemi weighed in at 843 before the modifications began (it's not called the Elephant for nothing). When finished at 505 ci, with every piece of aluminum and alloys that could be used in and on the original cast iron block, it weighs 610 pounds.
And this:
Mopar 170 6-cyl--------------- 465
------ 225 6-cyl--------------- 500
------ 273 V-8---------------- 550
------ 318 V-8---------------- 605
------ 361 V-8---------------- 640
------ 383 V-8---------------- 650
------ 426-Hemi--------------- 725
------ 440 V-8---------------- 685
Buick 300 V-8----------------- 470 (no flywheel)
----- 340 V-8----------------- 500 (no flywheel)
----- 401 V-8----------------- 640
----- 425 V-8----------------- 650
Cadillac 429 V-8--------------- 600 (no flywheel)
Chevrolet 230 6-cyl------------ 465
--------- 250 6-cyl------------ 480
--------- 283 V-8 2-bbl-------- 575
--------- 283 V-8 4 bbl-------- 585
--------- 327 V-8------------- 610
--------- 396 V-8------------- 687
--------- 427 V-8------------- 700
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ad.php?t=39353
But I think the table is bogus. Why would a 327 weigh more than a 283, and a 427 more than a 396? Just because of more displacement?
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax