276 Desoto hemi

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Odies dad

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
116
I am working on getting this thing torn apart and rebuilt. I am finding a few parts that should be replaced, but replacement parts are hard to find and expensive.
Hot Hemi Heads seems to be about the only game in town for parts but I was wondering what other parts can be modified to work.
They have an aluminum front cover that uses a small block Chevy water pump. They list replacement lifters but I need different push rods for the cheaper lifters. Most of the stuff seems to work out that you spend more money modifying things to use the cheaper parts than just spending the money on the expensive replacement part.
Anyone with any experience working on these things that has advice other than to scrap it and build a small block Chevy, please throw in your 2 cents.
 
Nothing cheap about building unconventional powerplants. If you want low budget, build a SBC. If you want affordable horsepower, build a SBC. (nothing wrong with either) If you want a unique/vintage engine that some people will ooh and ah over (but will ultimately be a little disappointing when you hit the loud pedal), get ready to dig deep in the pockets.

There are arguments for both, but them's the breaks...
 
Also, the point of these mods isn't necessarily for cost savings. The actual advantage is serviceability. Drop a SBC waterpump on the road? Walk in any parts house and come back out a few minutes later with what you need for under 20 bucks. Drop a stock Desoto water pump (especially far from home) and you're on the phone special ordering an item that could take days or weeks to get. Same with the lifters. Also if/when you do wear out the adapted parts, your cost is far reduced on replacements.

Hey, if it was cheap and easy everybody would do it right? :D
 
Much of what I am trying to do is get more findable parts. If I can figure out a way to use sbc parts, that is what I want. If I wanted a sbc, I have 2 of them in the garage. I am building this for the cool factor.
My biggest gripe is that some of the parts I need are not available, so if something else will work, I would like to know that.
 
So far I have gotten 5 of the pistons out. I ended up breaking the skirt on one of them, so I will be getting new pistons. I ordered a cam that will work with the aftermarket front cover and was recommended to get HT512 lifters.
I have 2 pistons that I drove down far enough to use my ridge reamer to clean up the cylinder but now I can't get them to drive back up. They have to come out the top. I got the old rings out of one of the pistons but they came out in little pieces. I will look at breaking one of the pistons as a blessing, because now, I don't have to spend days getting the old rings out and I can clean up the cylinders the right way.
My budget really doesn't like this project.
 
Nothing really cheap about building an early hemi properly. Ask me how I know. I run a 392 Chrysler built for endururance. It ain't exactly cheap
 
Got all the pistons and the cam and lifters out.
Still a bunch of little things to do before it goes to the machine shop.
 

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