354 old style hemi

[fr8tman]

I have aquired a 1956 Chyrsler hemi, factory 4 bbl. It is in good, stock condition. I would like to put it in a '52 FFPW. Not planning to hotrod it, just keep it close to stock. I am sure that folks here must have done or tried this repower, any old threads or comments? I am most concerned about width inside the fenders/hood. Thanks

[Aaron S]

I have seen flat fenders with early hemis in them, so it can be done. Your biggest clearance issues should be steering column, exhaust, and oil pan. If you have factory center dump exhaust manifolds you can use you should be ok there. Your oil pan will probably need to be modified for front diff clearance. The steering column may need to be modified with some sort of borgeson joint shaft to clear the driver's side valve cover. Don't take this as gospel, I have never personally looked into doing this swap on a flat fender.

I am getting ready to do this exact swap on my 58 W300 Power Giant though, and these are the main problem areas I have identified. I realize this is a completely different truck, but there is not that much difference in the distance between the frame rails at the engine, front diff and steering location, etc., so I imagine you would encounter similar issues.

[fr8tman]

Thanks for reply

Appreciate the info. I have almost completed a conversion installing a 4 cyl turbo diesel in my M37. Had the same issue with oil pan to diff clearance. Exhaust was not a problem and I think the steering would have been OK, but I was all ready doing a Snake River power steering conversion with the added borgerson joints. The biggest issue I did have was that the stock engine was offset a couple of inches to the driver side. The diesel has a gear reducer starter on that drivers side so the engine has to sit centered in the frame rails. It does not seem like a couple of inches would be critical, but the driveline from trans to xfer is so short that any offset results in vastly increased angularity on the short shaft. I have an occasional "shudder" that I think is UJoint induced. I will have to take it apart and figure out a fix!

[DavidGB]

fr8tman,
Most hemi conversions I have seen have used the smaller Dodge hemi(s). I used the 270 in my Carryall. They fit. The Chrysler hemis are bigger. The 354 is a very big engine. I know that the rarer truck versions had rear sumps and of course were matched with manual transmissions. Headers are harder to fit than the cast stock manifolds. On the Dodge hemis the right side exhaust manifold was a center dump while the left was a rear dump. I had to abandon the headers and used a second right side manifold on the left to clear the starter motor on the manual bell. I have attached some old photos from back when I was fitting the motor. You can see that the header on the right side landed just above the pumpkin and the left side was virtually contacting the Saginaw gearbox. The aftermarket rear sump pan still had to be narrowed for the pumpkin. No other real issues.
They are very uncommon, but there were some Chrysler 354s used in some Dodge trucks (1958?), I would try to find one and trade for it while you work out the rest of what you might need to do, or find a smaller Dodge truck hemi.
Good luck,
DavidGB

[fr8tman]

Thanks for info

Great info and pictures. My engine came with factory exh manifolds that hug the block real close. Hope I can use them. The engine also came with factory 4 bbl intake and carb. The only thing that does not compute is that all numbers for block, cam, heads, crank, etc. are 56 Chyrsler and the spark plug wire loom on top of the valve cover says DeSoto? This came with torque converter, I hope to use a flywheel, clutch and my stock 4 speed truck trans. Oh well, lots of time to check fit and figure out what will work.

[DavidGB]

354 Hemi in truck for sale

fr8tman,
You may find this interesting. http://www.dodgepowerwagon.com/class...914-58d700.php
I may or may not call to see if I can go take a look myself.
DavidGB

[fr8tman]

Thanks

Appreciate the info. The truck being on the east coast and me on the west, I will have to let this one go.

[fr8tman]

progress on hemi

Engine has now been cleaned, measured and inspected. It is stock bore with little taper. We will go 0.030" oversize to clean it up. Rod and mains are 0.010" undersize and in good shape. Heads are good and will get new guides and hard seat inserts. The parts will come from HotHeads Research (an early Hemi specialist), including a cam recommended by them for low to mid RPM and high torque (truck use).
Has anyone done this swap? If so, can they tell me if the stock 6 cyl. flywheel and bell housing will fit on the 354 hemi? I understand that it may be a possibility as Chrysler used the same flywheel on many of their engines, for years. I plan to use the stock 4 speed trans behind this hemi, if I can adapt it.

[Aaron S]

You "should" be able to use your transmission, but I doubt the bellhousing and flywheel will work. I'm pretty sure the crank flange is different. Keep in mind that the early hemis and polys are all internally balanced and require a neutral balanced flywheel. The early hemi bellhousings and flywheels are all the same pattern, so those parts will cross between makes, though they did come with a couple of different ring gears through the years. The bellhousing pattern is also essentially the same as later A and LA series small blocks, although those bells do require the use of adapter plates get everything to index correctly.

Any V8 truck bellhousing, 1958 or earlier should work if you can find one. The same goes for flywheels (not limited to truck applications). Otherwise the LA style mechanical bell or aftermarket scatter shield with an adapter kit is probably the way to go.

[DavidGB]

354 and 4 spd

Post pictures when you can. Some PW 4 speeds have different length input shafts. Some input shafts can be swapped between trannies. Also, sometimes finding a pilot bushing that will fit the match up can be difficult. If you have access to all the above pieces you might do some preliminary measuring to see if you will have any difficulty. As mentioned there are a number of bell housings that will likely work. The one(s) I've favored were hydraulically operated but I did once have one out of a Power Giant that would fit either a straight six or V8. Wish I had saved that.
DavidGB

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Also very curious on transmission and bellhousing combinations.

What has and has not worked and what crossmember and driveshaft

modifications were needed?