According to Richard Langworth, Complete History of Chrysler
Corp. 1924-85, the hemi was originally engineered to raise
output for a given displacement without increasing
compression. It was always an oversquare engine with
slipper pistons. This gave Chrysler tremendous scope for
improvement when higher octane fuels became available in the
'50's.
Acording to James Zeder [Fred's brother], "The hemispherical
combustion chamber consistently developed the highest
efficiency of the many designs tested. It put to work more
of the heat energy available in the fuel than any other
production car engine."
The reasons stated for demise of the hemi are weight, cost,
inflation, and rise in gasoline prices tilting buyers toward
economy and away from high performance.
It seems to me pretty obvious that 392 wasn't the limit of
the hemi, as 426's were designed that could get as much as
1,000 bhp, and Daimler is still selling crate hemi's.
Initial and repair costs, standardization, and public
interest, yes, outmoded design, absolutely not. Not even in
theory, and certainly not in production.
--Roger van Hoy, '55DeSoto, '42DeSoto, '66Plymouth,
'73Duster, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA
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