Through the magic of time-lapse photography, we present the complete overhaul of a mighty Chrysler Hemi V8 squeezed down to five minutes. Here’s an ideal opportunity to see all the details of the legendary Hemi from the inside out—watch.
Produced from 1951 through 1958, the original Chrysler Hemi V8 became a hot rodding legend. With its big, free-flowing cylinder heads and nearly bulletproof construction, the Hemi could handle seemingly unlimited amounts of supercharger boost and nitromethane fuel, and it ruled the drag strips for decades. Produced in three displacements—331, 354, and 392 cubic inches—the Hemi remains a favorite among hot rodders to this day.
In producing this entertaining video, our good friends at Hagerty Classic Cars selected the 331 CID version of the classic Chrysler Hemi. A filthy but basically sound example was found, then torn down to the bare block and completely rebuilt. For the crowning touch, a set of custom fabricated headers and a tubular intake manifold were also created. The ten-month rebuilding process was recorded with more than 40,000 still images, which were then arranged and compressed into a five-minute video—perfect coffee break length, allowing us to follow along.
If you’ve never seen a hemi-head Chrysler V8 apart before, here’s your perfect opportunity to see many of the engine’s novel features, including the twin-rocker-shaft valvetrain setup with short rocker arms for the intake valves and long rockers for the exhausts. There are also some great glimpses of the machine shop processes, including cylinder boring, honing, and decking. Thanks to Hagerty for a fun and informative video. We think you’ll enjoy it.
That’s quite impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Trouble is, as a mechanic by trade, customers of mine watch videos like this and automatically think that we should be able to do the actual job in that time. Maybe an hour or so because of the high-speed photography. Tell them it takes the better part of a week and you never hear the end of it….