Old Racing 426 Hemi Dyno Tested - The Purple Princess

Guy is quite a character, and likes to talk!

besides the rings would the valves when they are closed would a leak between the valve and the seats cause lack of compression ? I would say yes

It's a 52 year old Hemi build. Freshen it up with rings, bearings, and a good valve job. Swap out the big cam for a 284/484 hydraulic Hemi grind cam. It will be much more fun to drive on the street.

Nice elephant in the room

If your gonna take it apart, mic it. Anything out of tolerance, fix it. Love that cam tho! Good luck.

1) valve job. 2) rebuild the carbs. 3) possibly get closer to stock with the cam. 4) back to the dyno.

A lot has been learned in the years since the last build. Better parts are out there. Nick knows all the best building tricks. Let him loose on it to build it to last another 50+ years.

Freshen it up before something bad happens. 😊

You have an unknown engine from the 70's at least it needs the advantage of the latest technology.

"racing distributor" 😮

Wow

I'm going to purchase, and send you a laser temperature gun.

Better yet, purchase a thermal imaging, scanner.



Yes, the water does the trick in an emergency. But it doesn't tell you anything about how each cylinder is running.

Is that the "torque monstah" guy?

The rear carburetor is barely functioning...

Nick work your magic! Freshen that Hemi up bump up the compression at least make 500 HP that’s a cruiser these days. That guy was trip to listen too! Love the old stories.

Listening to that guy reminisce literally brought me to tears

Mike front new Yawk. I'm dying

Make it perform exactly like it did when it left the factory, please

Those Rear carburetor secondaries are not fully closed at idle and the fromt carb secondary dont fully Open

If it was mine, I would do a complete refresh. It would not make sense to me otherwise. New rings fresh hone, new seals all the way around, of course full rebuild. Why not you’re there anyways and you can always paint the engine purple.

Since it was built for racing in 72 it’s hard to say how much life it has in it left from the abuse of the past. I would go machine it where it’s better than new deck the block and heads the works to correct any mistakes and build it back to stock with an exception of the camshaft around 500 lift but has good street manners and a Melling High Volume oil pump.

The old lady deserves to be rebuilt to stock. You have to change out the real seal anyhow so you might just as well put in some fresh bearings, rings, a valve job and some new plugs and wiring. I think Mike and his daughter would bereal proud to have a fresh Hemi under the hood and Nick and his crew would be proud of another quality job.

Leave it alone. An old Hemi deserves to be left alone. They're lucky to have it!😊

Over haul. New pistons mild bore if need be. Mild Valve job new seats , bearings, new cam , springs, lifters balance the rotating assembly freshen it up. Make sure it runs slightly better than stock. And is reliable for decades

If his daughter is going to drive it, I’d do a full rebuild.
Tank that block and get that old crud out of the water jackets.
This way your not going to worry about the engine overheating.

Build it to last.

If it was mine, it would be getting:

1. The oil pressure back up at idle (new bottom end bearings most likely).
2. Compression back up to stock (honed cylinders and new rings, plus at least a basic valve job).
3. Check cam, lifters and condition (replace if needed)
4. Make sure it is making at least 490hp at peak rpm (~5750rpm).
5. Make sure there are no oil leaks.
6. Finally I'd enjoy driving the car hard...

Decent numbers for a 50+ year old engine. Maybe eventually do a stock rebuild and replace that cam with one having less duration for better low end torque for street use.

Mike's quite a character. I think the 426 needs to pulled down, checked right over, replace what's required & freshen it up to run how it's supposed to. Give it a nice paint job as well.

Cheers guys 😊

I used to own a 1967 Factory 426 Hemi 4-speed charger I understand what is expected with this elephant motor. Don't be ridiculous rebuild the motor so that this car in engine can scream like it should. Do not leave this engine as is you are going to eventually be disappointed with the performance and then rebuild it. Nick is the guy he's a Hemi man. Let him do his magic thank you Hemi gregg

Imagine 418hp in 1996.

1st off, awesome.
The 1st thing I would do is test.
Single 4bbl carb. On duel plane intake. I believe you can make more tq closer to the hp rpm.
Zero Deck the block and shave heads 0.030 with a 0.039 to 0.042 crush on the head gasket. I know nick likes 0.020 head gasket crush, but
It's a cruzer, not a racer, and 91 to 93 octane should be ok at 10.41:1 / 10.60:1 .
Heads have to flow to Match the cam, so I believe the cam in that setup is maxed out the head on both exhaust and intake flow. It probably has small valves as well.
I know there's a budget you are good at keeping it within reason.
Happy holidays and be safe all.

I would freshen up the engine since it's out of the car. A cam with more over lap. Water pump, reseal , touch up the valves or replace them.

I'm surprised it didn't make more than it did with the way he talked it up. Like he said at the end, it should make more than that stock. Definitely a carb issue based on the visual, possibly other stuff going on too. I wouldn't be too alarmed about those compression numbers either. They're not bad at all. Maybe go through and put new springs and seals on the valves, new gasket set, tune up those carbs and she'll run a lot longer as is. Those compression numbers might improve too if you can get some of that magic valvoline decarbon oil and run it for a couple oil changes too.

No fuel from the front secondary Nick

Motor is out might as well freshen up. New rings and bearings,valve job

Stock refresh

Ls swap it

I agree with most of the viewers I'd give it a proper rebuild.....rings bearings maybe even check or hot tank the block for your heating issue

Rings and recondition the heads.

Go for it but just don't over do it

Rebuild it to street hemi specs and durability. More money spent now on good parts will pay in the future.

Have Nick rebuild this awesome Hemi, it deserves to be upgraded with fresh rings, bearings, valve job, spring, etc, stock camshaft.

Bring it back to what it was In the 70s

Freshen it up...Go through it and at minimum hone the cylinders , New bearings , check the cam number , get one ground to those specs , etc...That is a very valuable motor so please don't chance it blowing up

Nick is a good guy and mechanic. People here act like he is some guru. He has a shop with a dyno. So what?

The engine is tired. It is putting out about 25 horsepower less than stock. It is already out of the car, so take the opportunity to rebuild it. Build it to stock specifications. It has the wrong cam in it for the street.

Refresh the heads ,go with new rings bearings and gaskets ,new oil pump, new timing chain

It needs 500 hp

Guys a hoot

Dad! 6000! Don’t break my car or you will have to fix it. 😂