Why the early Hemis were discontinued (Was The Forward Look)

["Don Nonnweiler" <dnonnwei@xxxxxxxxx>]

Arron
I disagree that they were an outdated engine as they were used in racing for
many years after and if you would have read my thread you would have noticed
I  said being banned was only part of the reason and listed most of the
items you did.  As far as the poly engine goes that was being used in 1955
on and by because they needed a lowline engine for the plymouth and lessor
Crysler cars,but it didn't take long to find out they were inferior to the
wedge in the breathing dept.  By the way the wedge was out in all Chrysler
cars in 1958 even the Plymouth had the 350 cubic inch
Don
59 Crown
----- Original Message -----
From: "A. Foster" <monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 12:10 AM
Subject: IML: Why the early Hemis were discontinued (Was The Forward Look)


> Don;
>  The early hemis were dropped for a number of reasons, all of which are
more
> plausible then hemis being banned.
> Starting in the late fifties, I think in 57', there was a voluntary
industry
> ban on racing but that was limited to manufacturer sponsored cars. This
was
> on cars not just hemi powered ones. In the seventies it was a different
> story. The Hemis were banned from racing, thanks to General Bullmoose, and
> since it was a small production race engine it didn't make sense, at the
> time, to continue making them.
>  The main reason that they were dropped in 1959, and the polysphere
> developed, was the cost of production. Each division in the Chrysler
> Corporation had their own Hemi engine and there was very little
interchange,
> in the way of parts, between one division's engines and another. In mass
> production economy of scale is everything and each division having its own
> unique but similar engine makes no sense. Another reason for the cost was
> the fact that the hemi required two rocker arm shafts and a machined
> combustion chamber. This was the reason why the polys were developed, they
> had most of the positive attributes of a Hemi but had one rocker arm shaft
> and a cast combustion chamber, making them cheaper to produce.
>  No one wants to hear this but by the time Chrysler discontinued making
the
> early hemis they were an outdated engine anyway. This is not to say that
the
> Hemispherical concept was outdated, many engines before, during, and since
> were built with Hemi heads, just that the Chrysler design was. By the time
> the RB wedge engines replaced the hemis in 1959, actually in 1958 on
DeSotos
> and Dodges, the hemis had been bored and stroked to their practical limit.
> In order to go any further in displacement with any of the early Hemis
they
> would have had to come out with a new block.
>  In short it only made sense to take advantage of the situation and
> rationalise engine design between the five divisions, RB big blocks for
the
> large cars and "A" series small blocks for the smaller cars. Since the
> Windsor's polysphere shared the same block as the Chrysler Hemi they
> disappeared as well but the poly lived on until the mid 60's in the "A"
> series engines. Had Chrysler used the same Hemi V8 engine in all
divisions,
> and high octane gas not come on the scene, they wouldn't have had the same
> incentive to change over, except maybe for reasons of trimming weight or
> increasing displacement.
> Best Regards
> Arran Foster
> 1954 Imperial Newport
> Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Don Nonnweiler" <dnonnwei@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 7:50 PM
> Subject: Re: IML: The Forward Look- more than just fins/Exner SAE Paper
>
>
> > >From what I've been told part of the reason Chrysler stopped making the
> hemi
> > first in 1959 and then in 1970 was they could not use them in the racing
> > circut anymore, plus the cost of making them was expensive  and shortage
> of
> > fuel in the 70's
> > Don
> > 59 Crown
>
>
>