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My "Other" Hobby...


426-Hemi

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As you all know, I'm a avid modeler, BUT at times that real auto bug, bites me, and leaves a welt! Well with that, I have my Step-Son Zach, and his neighbor Doug to thank! LOL

Zach's neighbor Doug has this, ummmmm "junk Yard" not really, he lives out in the middle of no where, and had a rather decent amount of property. Most of it, from "collecting" cars, or or parts to repair them, so as the years went on, he got parts, as well....Well as time passes as Doug had said, his health went down hill. This left him high and dry but no real projects done.....Specially, his "cough" cars as he put it (wasn't a REAL cough too I might add here, Doug has a real good sense of humor....GREAT guy! Really....

But anyway, he told me your Zach's Step-Father, your more then welcome to have a look through the yard and if ya find anything, remember it, and on the way out let me know we'll deal then.....So I thought, what could he have? You know the routine, right? WRONG, 11 PM at night I'm going out the same way I went in, this guy, is LOADED! I know there is at least 10 1970's Dodge pick ups in there in various stages of disrepair, not needing much BUT needing something in 2 cases a bumper her a bumper there....I KNOW one truck needing nothing but gas! a '66 Ford F-100! Has a little rust no holes tho. all solid! Has a FE engine 429 in it! THEN there are 2 Ford tow trucks, BOTH running shape and legal to run, needing tires! BOTH of these have the FE 460 in them for engines!

So, as I went out I mentioned to Doug I was interested in all the "parts" engines valve covers! Had a Hemi sittin there....(I'd KILL to make that into the bed of my truck or if it fit, the trunk of the car, Wife isn't gonna like that one!) :D Anyway, Doug said, they aren't going anywhere any time real soon, your next visit we'll pull 'em you can have them, they aren't much in the way of weight and thats when he told me A LOT of it is headed for the scrap yard!

So, on my next trip to return, I took all sorts of tools, and such with me to be ready for a day worth of elbow deep in muck, and just as deep in grease, oil, and rust.....Wife was just all happy, to see me doing what shes only heard about, in the company of my family.....Working or seemingly working on cars....Real ones!

SO, Needless to say, I got a single Hemi Valve Cover, the other one was trashed (BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH IT!), Got 2 Mopar Slant 6 valve covers, and then the mother load, 5 sets (10 valve covers) of Mopar Small blocks, 318 set (4 total), 340 Set (4 total), and a 360 set (2 total) making 10 valve covers in all!!

Can ya guess which valve cover got done first? :D











YOU BET! The 426 Hemi!!!!!!!!!!!

My_Mopar_Hemi_Lamp_Shade_001_detail.jpg

My_Mopar_Hemi_Lamp_Shade_002_detail.jpg

I MADE most the "details"!!!! The Breather cap is made from PVC pipe parts, the plug wire is from an orange extension cord, and the looms I made from sheet metal. The wire boots is a conjunction of machine plexiglass, and PVC, and some other odds and ends. See the these (The Hemi one) and even the crushed other one) were stripped of all its parts, I couldn't save anything, for use in the restore, so had to make due with my own supply of materials! ANYTHING that has "HEMI" involved in the name, ALSO had MANY $$$$$ emblems following behind it! So, dealing with the idea of cost and keeping it "do-able" well....I don't think I done to bad with what I was given, and had in hand already....

My_Mopar_Hemi_Lamp_Shade_003_detail.jpg

My_Mopar_Hemi_Lamp_Shade_000_detail.jpg

The last one shows the location of WHERE the "HEMI" emblem is going to be....I have to make a plate to fit ittoo, before I can say its "done" but.. thats what it will look like! This emblem cost me the most....$12.00 for a set of 2!

OHHHH I didn't say, these that I got are going to be LAMP SHADES! I'm going to use those small block ones as "Sconces" on the wall up the stars to my shop, the Hemi one is a floor model lamp that the wife has agreed to let me have in our living room!

The problem is, I should have gotten pictures of what these looked like as I got them home, and BEFORE I started on them! As the next following Valve Cover, being a Mopar 225 Slant 6, I got "before" pictures, and have more to take of it....So, heres what most of them looked like upon getting home from Dougs the second visit to my Step-Sons as he helped me dig for some of them! :D Thanks Zach!

My_Mopar_Slant_6_Valve_Cover_000_detail.

My_Mopar_Slant_6_Valve_Cover_002_detail.

My_Mopar_Slant_6_Valve_Cover_001_detail.

Rusty huh???? They're all in need of "help" BUT because of what they are, I thought, it be worth to "save" them or preserve them to show the generations in time to come! NOTHING I have is newer then 1972!!!!!!

Will post updates as these happen for those interested in seeing this "other" hobby of mine!

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks Vince! The Hemi's ARE very difficult to find (for an affordable price) BUT I managed to get one,

And sadly the guy I got most of them from is scraping everything, its sat so long, most of it has rot that just isn't worth trying to repair and to add to it little critters got into the interiors and destroyed most of what would have been a seat and all that..... BUT, I thought I'd do what I could to preserve..... The valve covers as the Slant-6 is, seen here, is RUSTY, and needed work, I'll get some pictures to update when I can, as I got the slant-6 done, its destined to be the "top" of a model car display case, to house lighting for the display case as the bottom and sides will be wooden, BUT the shelving will be Lexan, for the light shine through the whole case when "lit".... -Thought that be an AWESOME use for it!

The "426 Hemi" I got, I plan to use it as a floor based lamp that will be in my living room to top the lamp body, thats gonna be a 426 VISIBLE Hemi from Testors as a display

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I wished I HAD the rest of the Hemi. as for the "yard" it came from, the other one was "crushed" and the motor was no where to be found!

As for the 429 and 460, YES, there were the 429 Boss, the 428 Cammer, and the 429, my mistake, or mis-type, the 429 Wedge head engine and 460 were 385 Y-blocks! LAST "FE" engine from Ford was the 427......

The 429 Boss, and the 428 Cammer BOTH were Hemi's........

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Mark,

Thats awesome!!! ALL of those Hemi's you owned were "BEASTS" but I'm sure you knew that from owning them!

And thanks! Was no way I could have gotten the whole motors, (NICE thought, it did however cross my mind) but..... The owner was gonna taken 'em in for scrap unfortunately..... Not sure they were worth much really, as they all had there valve covers, BUT some the heads with valve covers were off the blocks and totally "exposed" to the elements, and others, had missing soft plugs in the blocks and then others with missing oil pans. NOT a good sign for the blocks to be in good shape..... or well not in good shape, without a goof couple fist fulla $ hundreds..... to make 'em run again!

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Mark,

Thats awesome!!! ALL of those Hemi's you owned were "BEASTS" but I'm sure you knew that from owning them!

And thanks! Was no way I could have gotten the whole motors, (NICE thought, it did however cross my mind) but..... The owner was gonna taken 'em in for scrap unfortunately..... Not sure they were worth much really, as they all had there valve covers, BUT some the heads with valve covers were off the blocks and totally "exposed" to the elements, and others, had missing soft plugs in the blocks and then others with missing oil pans. NOT a good sign for the blocks to be in good shape..... or well not in good shape, without a goof couple fist fulla $ hundreds..... to make 'em run again!

John...My old 392ci ones ran one had chromed valve covers on it...was a bummer to have to sell them off...bought one for only $25.oo and all were complete. I wanted to build a street rod and use one of them in it a 29 Ford 5 window coupe but it had to go too...another bummer. I do still have a pair of Chevy 409ci valve covers on the wall in my garage and a few auto/oil/gas related signs in there too...love those things.

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I wished I HAD the rest of the Hemi. as for the "yard" it came from, the other one was "crushed" and the motor was no where to be found!

As for the 429 and 460, YES, there were the 429 Boss, the 428 Cammer, and the 429, my mistake, or mis-type, the 429 Wedge head engine and 460 were 385 Y-blocks! LAST "FE" engine from Ford was the 427......

The 429 Boss, and the 428 Cammer BOTH were Hemi's........

Actually, the 429/460 engines are 385 series as is the boss 429. The Y block is a totally different series again. Think 292 and 312 t bird engines. The SOHC " cammer" is based on an FE is 427 cubic inches The last performance FE engines were the 428 cobra jets

The boss 429 was not a true Hemi as it only had a semi hemispherical combustion chamber. Hope this helps. I digest Ford engine part numbers in my sleep and have had my hands on every one of the engines I listed ?

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-Yeah, The 429 Boss was like that of the Mopar "Poly-Head, as the valves were "offset", NOT across from each other..... The later Mopar 404 and 444 "Hemi's were this same way HOWEVER were canted valves enough to allow the combustion chamber to be true Hemispherical.....

The 428 "Cammer" I thought was a true Ford "Hemi" though?

Edited by 426-Hemi
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