Hemi Day...

[Truckman]

As you all know, April 26 (4/26) of each year is a solemn religious holiday for those who worship the god of horsepower...FCA has chosen this day (today) to announce pricing and availability for the newest resurrection of the legendary hemi - behold the 426 Hellephant crate engine...Priced at a reasonable $29.99 per pony in this corral of 1,000 horses, I will allow those of you with itchy right feet and deep pockets to fight your way to the front of the line to place your order...

I'm perfectly happy with the 305 thoroughbreds in my diesel herd already......Ben

[Honda]

After you finish the CB install this would make a nice project for you. I suggest you go find a 20 year old Ram beater and restore it and drop one of those hellephants in it and punch it next to a Shelby stang.................all just for fun of course.

[Truckman]

After you finish the CB install this would make a nice project for you.

I am getting closer...The console fabrication is progressing, although I keep finding I need to go to Lowes for odds and ends...In fact I'm going again this afternoon...As for the Hemi, I had one in the Challenger, and it was fun but I think the current truck will be my last build......Ben

[wacojoe]

At some point with two rear drive wheel vehicles, I am guessing additional horsepower is greatly diminished in usefulness for shear excelleration as opposed to top speed. Am I correct, and if so, approximately where is the point of greatly diminished returns? I’m guessing 1000hp and comparatively high torque is just about impossible to get to the ground in a street car, much less a truck. I’m guessing somewhere between 350-500 hp is optimum and wasted power takes over.

The fastest car I ever drove was a 427 Cobra reproduction with probably something in the range of 400hp, and it was positively scary when you opened the spigot. It was a definite threat to swap ends at any speed/gear when that happened.

[Truckman]

Joe, horsepower is what you want when you're looking for low elapsed times or top speed...Torque is what's needed to move a load...Put simply horsepower is torque measured over time, such as RPM...Look at almost any torque/HP chart and you'll see torque peak early as RPM's climb...An engine might not be producing as much torque as RPM's climb, but HP can increase because it's measured with the addition of time as a factor...This is why high RPM race engines can make insane amounts of HP at lower torque values simply because of the time factor...

Engines designed for moving freight are built to produce their peak torque at lower RPM's because it increases their reliability, and therefore their longevity...That narrow torque band in a diesel is also why they are more efficient with more transmission gears...If you want to go faster with a diesel, you add gears, but that speed comes at the cost of reduced efficiency also...The 426 Hellephant is designed for one purpose, to get from Point A to Point B in the shortest time possible at the highest speed......

I'm at the point in life where 305 HP and 605 ft/lbs of torque suits my needs perfectly......Ben

[Truckman]

This morning's thought: If yesterday (4/26) was Hemi Day, does that make today (4/27) Porcupine Day for the GM fans, and is Monday (4/29) celebrated by Ford diehards as CobraJet Day?...Or do GM and Ford aficionados just hide in shame from the overpowering brilliance shining forth from the true champion of the drag race wars, the incomparable 426 Mopar Hemi?......Ben