I recall reading an article in one of the Chyrsler car clubs I belong to about a batch of Imperial engines. There was apparently a VIP requirement (possibly Presidential and staff limos?) for engnes and Chrysler wanted them to be extraordinarily smooth and quiet.
The article said the engines were essentially blueprinted, by selecting parts in many cases, to ensure the engines were balanced in every reasonable way in order to be smooth.
The six (I?) engines were completed and ready to be installed. They somehow disappeared withoutmaking it to their VIP vehicle destination, being used instead for some other "production shortage". At the last minute, standard engines were used for the VIP engines. The point was that somewhere out there there were some Chrysler owners with very smooth engines.
My take-away from the article was that special attention was paid to Imperial engines at that time. I am guessing this was the 50's or early 60's. Mike Moore
In the mid 1980's I worked in the Engine Hot Test at Chrysler's Trenton Engine Plant. The old timers told me that the engines that passed the test the first time without needing any repairs were tagged as potential Imperial engines. These were not any kind of permanent stamping, just a tag on the rack holding the engines.
Nancy, the Imperials were assembled in their own plant on Warren Avenue from, I think, 1957 to 1966. This is actually in Dearborn, MI but the property abuts the Detroit border. Much of that plant is actually still standing but is now used for producing some kind of ethnic food products. Go to Google Maps ( www.maps.google.com) and enter address "8505 Warren Avenue, Dearborn, MI" to see it.
When the production was moved to the Jefferson Road plant in Detroit, they may have had their own separate line separate from the other vehicles being produced there. Maybe Gil Cunningham can speak to that?
Gary Runkel Canton, MI
I remember hearing something about picking only the best blocks for
Imperials.
Don't know exactly when but I think it may have been in the late fifties
that this was supposed to be done.
I do not know if it was true.
I do know that in the late fifties and the early sixties too Imperials
were supposed to have been assembled on their own line
and only in Detroit. I think I even once heard that they were even
given a brief road test before they left the factory.
Anyone know anything else about this?
Regards,
Nancy Kramer
At 06:26 PM 1/11/2014, Ray Jones wrote:
There are others that know more than I do about this, and maybe they will
chime in here.
I recall hearing that the early Hemi blocks were cast, then put out in a
field for a year to cure.
They were then brought in and machined. This made sure there would be no
block distortion after machining.
I don't remember when this practice stopped, not sure if it held over
into the 413 HP blocks or not.
Just the ramblings of on old mind...
Ray
On Sat, Jan 11, 2014 at 3:06 PM, Rich Barber
<c300@xxxxxxx> wrote:
-
- I had heard or read that, in 1955 anyway, the 300 blocks were
cherry-picked after the cylinders were bored. If no porosity was
present they might be sent to be made into 300 engines and stamped
accordingly. If porosity was observed, they would be sleeved and
put in New Yorkers. It’s entirely possible this same process was
used to select Imperial blocks. Otherwise, structure and external cast-in
numbers were the same. I suspect that practice might have continued
for some time on an unofficial basis. If Chrysler had noted any
block failures due to high performance cars, they might have beefed up
all the blocks rather than establish a different production process just
for the HP engines.
-
- I also recall hearing that some MoPar HP engines were actually
assembled on different lines and even by different organizations that
were more used to building close-tolerance race engines.
-
- C300K’ly,
- Rich Barber
- Brentwood, CA
- 1955 C-300; VIN: 3N551198; Engine stamped: 3NE551098.
’55-’58 hemi engines were individually serial numbered but the serial
numbers rarely, if ever, matched the chassis VIN.
-
- From:
Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[
mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael
Moore
- Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2014 7:49 AM
- To:
therichardsonfamily@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Cc: 300 Club
- Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Value of correct date block
-
-
- Curious minds want to know:
- What exactly is the dofference in the blocks which are HP and those
whci are not? Is it simply inspection (as I understand Imperials once
were)?
- Mike Moore
- 300H
- On Jan 11, 2014, at 7:45 AM,
therichardsonfamily@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
-
-
-
- oooops, I meant "V41" block............
-
- From:
therichardsonfamily@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: "300 Club"
<
chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2014 9:43:16 AM
- Subject: Fwd: [Chrysler300] Value of correct date block
-
-
-
- Group:
-
- So, is it confirmed that all 1960 F's were not born with an engine
stamp denoting "HP"? That certainly would make Shannon's
search for a "date correct" block much easier - any 413 will do
(dated appropriately). If that is the case, I agree that the added
value is definitely worth the effort to find it.
-
- And I keep my interest in the "A41" block out
there.....
-
- Dan Richardson
- 300L Family Heirloom
- (w/ a '67 Imperial's 440 in it - funny thing is, I think my original
413 HP is running around Chicagoland in a white '67 Charger! Just
can't find it!)
-
- From:
therichardsonfamily@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To:
LabLoverDC@xxxxxxx
- Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 3:05:21 PM
- Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Value of correct date block
-
- Shannon:
-
- I have asked this same question - I have an L with a '67 440 in
it. With my car, I am choosing not to stress out about it too
much. A) - I don't have unlimited resources, and B) - an L is
definitely the least prized of the Letter cars. Besides that, I'm
not too sure how many "HP" blocks you can find out
there.
-
- Having said that, an F is much more valuable in general, even more so
with the original motor but, with a "date correct" block (as
long as it's disclosed) I can't imagine you detract from a "numbers
matching" value too much. Just an observation and
opinion. If you have the time, and patience, you may be able to
uncover the right block.
-
- If you are on a schedule that doesn't allow a year or two to look,
perhaps you take a stab at it briefly, and then just move forward.
Who knows, maybe a "V41" is the right date code for my early
build '65 L and you have me as a customer for yours? Perhaps it
would be in my best interest to help you look?
-
- Good luck in whatever you choose, and keep my name in case you do
want to sell the "V41" block.
-
- Dan Richardson
- 300L Family Heirloom
-
- From:
LabLoverDC@xxxxxxx
- To:
chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 2:25:05 PM
- Subject: [Chrysler300] Value of correct date block
-
-
- Hello All--Thanks to the excellent information offered here, I've
determined the block in our 300 F appears to be from 1964 (V41 HP).
As nearly as we can tell, at some point prior to our owning the car, a
short block was put in. It appears that everything else (ram
induction, carbs, heads, etc.) are proper and presumably original to the
car.
-
- The engine is out of the car, and we are undertaking a complete
re-build of it. My question is, does anyone have an opinion as to
whether we should stick with the 1964 block we have, or try to find a
1960 P41 block, which of course would still not be original to the car
but would be mostly correct from a date standpoint? Does that add
significant value (enough to make it worth it to go through the expense
and trouble of finding a '60 block)?
-
- For a point of reference, we are doing a complete, sub-frame off
restoration. While we're not necessarily trying for a concours job,
especially with detailed correctness in things like wires, labels,
batteries, etc., it will be a very high quality restoration, perhaps one
step down from concours (at least, that's what we hope to end up
with). The car itself is a black/tan convertible with factory air,
and all of the options appear to be correct according to the build sheet
if that helps.
-
- I would welcome anyone's opinion on this subject.
-
- Shannon
-
-
-
-
-
-
--
Ray Jones. Y'all come on down an see us. Ya hear?
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