426 Hemi: The Greatest of all time OR Overrated? We take a look back and let you decide...

Very well done video

Racing it's probably the G.O.A.T. on the street I'll take a 440

Ronnie Sox drove so well he almost didn't need a tach.

A purely stock hemi in a charger or GTX was very beatable. As a teenager (1979) I remember a race between a 1970 Camaro with a 427 - .373 gears - automatic with B&M shift kit & 2500rpm stall speed converter. The other guy had a Hemi challenger - single 4bbl - .410 gears - 4 speed with a competition clutch. I was only 16 years old and remember the race not being close. The Camaro won by at least 2, maybe 3 car lengths. The difference was rpm’s! The 427 seemed to accelerate much faster and revved higher.

That was a great video. Great job on the accurate narration

The Ford Boss is number 1. It is not allowed to compete. As soon as nhra got wind someone was going to get serious with it and bring it back, they promptly banned the bore spacing of the Ford. Why, why is any engine protected. It doesn't make any sense.

In drag racing it is the greatest of all time hands down . Great video

OVER-RATED!!
Maybe in it's day..
Heck, there's 4cyl K-series making over a thousand hp!
And it's like the car designers NEVER met with the Power train designers!
It's 2024.5 and if you want to build up your MOPAR, nothing fits without surgery. IE. Headers barely fit. (Still to this day!) K-member could be better design, and they let other "entities" make 5-6spds...
(Until just a few years ago) 40+yr gap?

The hemi is a great motor but I still
favor the 427 S.O.H.C. Ford!

Although it didn't beat the 426 hemi, the Ford 351 Cleveland was the best engine in racing. Winning in NHRA, NASCAR, and on the streets!

Good video!

How do I apply the 128 rule, to a SBC with a roots style blower, namely The Blower Shop 192. Thank you! I appreciate the info you and David are putting out.

Absolutely Best of all time engines is 426 2 gen Hemi..

When the Hemi was allowed back into NASCAR in 1966, they had a 400ci limit, where everyone else was allowed 427. They still won. They weren't actually banned in '65, but the rules around them in '65 were too limiting to be competitive. They would have been forced to use full size chassis with much heavier weight as opposed to the midsize platforms they used normally.
One of the big reasons the 426 was successful in early top fuel was specifically the heat treatment done on the blocks. If Ford had been doing the same heat treat to their Cammer and Boss blocks, Top Fuel might look a lot different today. It was coined the elephant, not only because of it's physical size, but also because you couldn't hurt it. The blocks could take a ton of abuse.

Overrated?? It won more NHRA races than any other engine! The basic design in the 50s are still in use today!! Still based around the Chrysler hemi ! Even stock car was successful!

People are still putting them in old non Chrysler cars and racing them. I like my modern Hemi.🤠

Nope rolls Royce Merlin probably the GOAT All though the big Ford GAA was pretty impressive too. 😀

The Chrysler Corporation's 426 Generation 2 HEMIS are "The Greatest Engineered and Designed Internal Cumbustion Engines Ever Mass Produced Bar Non both Domestic and Foreign Markets Till this Day!

Great video and yes the hemy is one of the greatest

ZL1 aluminum bbc stomped the street hemi all day long. I know. I wasn’t there.

Over rated

I'm no hot rodder or racer, but logic tells me the reason engines with hemi heads are better is because of the nearly straight ports - both the intake and exhaust ports. Better airflow, which equals more power potential.

I’ll take the Boss 429 Hemi any day. Motor has to last long enough to win.

When an actual factory cast block and head 426 HEMI runs a 5.88 at 256mph....it can claim the best ever....but not a single one on the planet has.
But a John Mihovetz prepped 4.6 4V has.
When one runs 300.4 mph in a standing mile, it can make the claim..... but ZERO have.
Ford's 5.4L 4V holds that WORLD RECORD
Or when an oe cast head 426 runs 5.67 @ 265mph, it can make the claim, but none have.
MMRs Oe head Coyote has.
And NO.... a modern TF dragster engine is NOT a Dodge HEMI and only based off certain dimensions as per the rules.

Circuit racing whether flat or banked, nitro, alcohol and petrol powered drag racers, it dominated those for years but I am somewhat surprised that you did not mention the 43 years it held the piston powered land speed crown.

The Plymouth HEMI! 426! Glenn

Always wanted a 426 hemi.
Found a 1957 392 Chrysler hemi with pushbutton transmission .

If you want to run superstock or stock appearing races today the hemi style heads, be it Chrysler or Ford boss can be difficult to match as the airflow is easy to find. but aside from NASCAR where you're going 200mph and you can keep the engine at speeds it's not always the best. It can be difficult to get a large valve engine to launch out of the hole and engines with valves splayed in the direction of flow can be very sensitive to intake and exhaust piping. A hemi is about the best situation for fitting very large valves in a finite bore as long as the camshaft doesn't cause the valves to hit each other. In today's world you can get high lift short duration roller cams to preserve compression and reduce effects of overlap like fuel standoff but in that day it could be tempting to grind a camshaft similar to one used on a wedge and you could have difficulty launching with enough engine speed without bogging or just doing wild wheel stands and breaking clutches. With nitro all that room for ports and valves can be a distinct advantage because there is so much liquid fuel. The fuel is also oxidizer so you can use a lot of it at once. With super chargers the fuel can be enough to be calculated in the compression and then the high roof of the combustion chamber works to your advantage as to get the compression low enough to add more fuel. The hemi definitely has it's place in racing, be it high rpm or supercharged nitro. But sometimes a compromise similar to a Cleveland or bbc or an LS or Godzilla can be a better engine.

No other head design supports 12,000 plus horsepower.
All the fastest drag cars run the hemi head.

All time? Todays Hellcat is far more powerful with full emissions

MOPAR or GO HOME!

I think the 440 magnum was better

I have no doubt that the Hemi is the GOAT, in 1964 it was overkill in Nascar as the Max Wedge could have been competitive with the new body changes. It wasn't until mid 1963 that Mopar made a Max Wedge with a single carb intake and further improvements like the bathtub design would have had it equal to if not better than the Ford's 427. The Hemi was in reality too much motor for the times, the tires back then were not up to the task; either on the track or the street.

I really wish someone would do an apples to apples test comparing the 426 Hemi to the 429 Boss. Not just dyno tests, but compare block to block, crank to crank, heads to heads, etc.

Why do top fuel motors use the basic 426 layout

Seen on paper from a bone stock just tuned and tweaked and pushed out 506hp……
The street 426…. Yall do know theres a few race hemis that got sold right before the street tuned version

about time some one got it right . this is the first review in last two years. from reviewers. how got it wrong left right and centre.

Great engine, but i vote 427 cammer.

The.king.of.the.big
Blocks

Goat

The basic concept is used to make 12,000 hp

Hemis are the best ,love mine .

Would love to have been in the NASCAR garage the first time a hood was ooened on the 426. It must have scared the SHIT out of everyone else. 😊

If you look at number of engines used in every form of racing...well, you already know the answer...lol

It probably was and is overrated but it was a bad ass motor and became legend

426 Hemi is the king

Yes it's the greatest engine ever to see

And 🔥 performance

I have a duel spark plug 426 HEMI.

No question about it, it is the GOAT!!