Why are hemi builds expensive?

[Sweet5ltr]

I could never ruin an old American Mopar musclecar with a 3rd Gen HEMI. To me it has to be old school. I understand the whole Pro touring thing is where it is at these days, just not my style. Fuel injection added to an old engine is okay once covered with the most Mopar air cleaners most can't tell anyway. I own a newer 2012 Challenger R/T with a 5.7L HEMI. As impressive as technology has come & I do enjoy driving it. It is just not the same to me.

Issue is, how much support will be around in twenty to thirty years? You can stroke a GEN III to 426 & 440 cubes. Can even dress it up with a carburetor with the MSD 6-Hemi ignition controller kit. Wait around a few more years, Mopar is supposedly bringing back the 7.0 liter (426) option with the RAM Rebel TRX making 520 - HP.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I agree. Not sure why the aftermarket will not jump on the band wagan for Hemi blocks & parts. The Pontiac & AMC guys even have options.....

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Most won't even know the difference anymore. GEN III Hemi.

 

[6PKRTSE]

Aww, that is cute. LOL. Looks good dressed like that.

 

[wyrmrider]

400 or 440 stroker build Stage V heads and valve gear
most economical way to go and they run great

 

[chooch]

The hemi is expensive, so us max wedge guys can feel, like we got a deal on our parts...lol

there Not much cheaper if any.

 

[Hemirunner]

I bought the Hellcat engine and the TR6060 and it came in a nice package...

 

[GetX'd]

I think spending that kind of cake to build a Hemi is a joke. Yes - they are iconic motors. Wish I had one in my X. But I would never spend that kind of cash. My reasoning is I think it’s a scam. No good reason the parts cost that much. It’s all about the legend. Which I agree exists. I’m happy with my original 440 stroked to a 494 and running nearly 600 hp. I have an a12 setup on it and love it and it’s go power. Spend your money on other things unless you’re a money is no object kind of guy. On the other hand - at 24 - welcome to the passion. I’m happy to see young guys keeping the game going. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

 

[Fran Blacker]

At 24 you wait until us ol'farts kick off then pick up a deal. When everyone who wants one has one the leftovers will be cheaper.

 

[PRHeads]

I’m sure somewhere this info is out there.......

How many vehicles did Mopar build with the gen II hemi?

Have they built more Hellcats than that yet?

 

[moper]

Issue is, how much support will be around in twenty to thirty years?

These cars will be legislated off the road in 20 years - and I doubt I'll care at that point in my life...lol.

 

[AR67GTX]

I've been helping some friends assemble a 69 Hemi Roadrunner. After a couple of years their Hemi finally made it to the dyno and I forget all the details but it revealed a crack in the block. A year later and many dollars spent on welding and stitching it was back up and running again. I think he ended up with somewhere around $25K in it but couldn't swear to that figure. Restoring 2 AFBs (not simply rebuilding), finding a correct distributor, finding a correct $700 repro air cleaner base, exhaust manifolds, a crazy expensive throttle solenoid, carb linkage, hydraulic roller cam (a bitch to remove the valve cover for plugs and adjusting valves with a PB booster), etc, really consume the dollars. I think the engine and rotisserie body work and paint have set him back over $50k alone.

 

[TetanusShot]

I was in your position 4 years ago, 24, fresh out of college, and wanted a Hemi. It took a mountain of research and gathering parts a piece at a time but I got it done 2 years ago on a budget. The only things I couldn't do myself were bore/hone the block and balance the rotating assembly.

If you decide to go for it and need advice like parts lists, parts sources, and money saving tips from the perspective of someone building one on a budget I can help you out.

Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it.

 

[IQ52]

I'm lazy. I sometimes wish I could get someone to chew my food for me. The first time I had to torque the top four head studs from inside the lifter valley on that Indy aluminum block, I knew I wasn't made for working on Hemi's. That engine was built previously by someone else and the labor/machine work to correct all the problems was the killer.

 

[fratzog lover]

I think spending that kind of cake to build a Hemi is a joke. Yes - they are iconic motors. Wish I had one in my X. But I would never spend that kind of cash. My reasoning is I think it’s a scam. No good reason the parts cost that much. It’s all about the legend. Which I agree exists. I’m happy with my original 440 stroked to a 494 and running nearly 600 hp. I have an a12 setup on it and love it and it’s go power. Spend your money on other things unless you’re a money is no object kind of guy. On the other hand - at 24 - welcome to the passion. I’m happy to see young guys keeping the game going. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

You make an excellent point. Charge what you think the people will pay. How much more does it cost to make a Hemi piston than a 440 piston? 2X, 3X, 4X? Maybe I'm wrong, but the after market knows the 426 crowd is as fanatical as anyone out there. Even the Boss 429 and W-30 owners.

 

[Darter6]

Over 30 G's invested in mine and only 10 years @ 1 piece at a time.Also all the little things to get it in the car.K frame,headers,T-bars and the like..All only because of the 65 Body that everyone said "Man you NEED a Hemi in that thing."They all cringe when I say,"I'm thinking of going back to the Slant 6 that came in the car".UPDATE= I failed to say the cost was for all new parts.No used parts in the build.

 

[Hemirunner]

When I built my first one, I bought a rocker arm out of each pay check to afford it. It took forever and I paid way too much that way, but didn’t have any other options. That was a half dozen hemis ago!

 

[64BEL]

I’m sure somewhere this info is out there.......

How many vehicles did Mopar build with the gen II hemi?

Have they built more Hellcats than that yet?

According to https://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/hemispec.html
896 race Hemi cars and 10,094 street Hemi cars. I don't know about the Gen III cars but I would think they're higher?

I think the answer to the original question is simple supply and demand - leaning heavily on demand (or desire). The history of the engine is a big factor in driving people's desire to have one.

People selling original 426 Hemi stuff seem to think it's gold. I saw a chrome dome air cleaner lid - that's the lid only - for sale at the swap meet at Mopars in the Park this year. It had rust spots all over it and the price was $600. Someone on Ebay was selling a pair of '66 Hemi AFBs for $4300. One year only part numbers for the carbs, so I guess the seller figures they're gold.

I like to keep an eye on what this stuff is going for out of curiosity. It makes me feel really lucky that I found an original car with everything there - I didn't have to chase down anything.

 

[Hemirunner]

I'm lazy. I sometimes wish I could get someone to chew my food for me. The first time I had to torque the top four head studs from inside the lifter valley on that Indy aluminum block, I knew I wasn't made for working on Hemi's. That engine was built previously by someone else and the labor/machine work to correct all the problems was the killer.

I don’t think I’ll ever be that lazy! Doesn’t sound appetizing at all! Lol

 

[Hemirunner]

I’m sure somewhere this info is out there.......

How many vehicles did Mopar build with the gen II hemi?

Have they built more Hellcats than that yet?

https://www.hellcat.org/threads/2015-2018-production-totals.215421/

Copied from the link above...

These numbers may be of interest to some of us. From the production figures listed on this Forum and by my calculations, there has been a total of 9,710 Hellcat Chargers reported worldwide from 2015 thru 2018. There are 25,790 Hellcat Challengers (including the wide bodies) reported in the same period. The total production for all Hellcats worldwide is a nice round number of 35,500! Of particular interest to me is that out of the 9,710 Chargers, only 293 were Billet Silver and only one other one like mine in 2016 with CF stripes and ruby red interior. Silver is not the lowest production color but you will not see many Billet Silver Hellcat Chargers in the wild!