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bill dedman · 01-17-2009, 01:33 AM

Tell me something; there never was a short deck 426 Hemi block (not that ~I~ ever heard of, anyway.) The Hemi heads for those engines (426s) won't just bolt onto a 383/400 short deck block for three reasons:
1.The top row of studs on the Hemi heads will run smack into the top of the block deck of a wedge motor. 2. There is no pushrod clearance for the exhaust pushrods; the OEM Hemi blocks have 8 "troughs" for those pushrods to lie down in, and
3. There is no way, short of attaching an external return line, to get the oil that accumulates on top of the head in the rocker arm area, back to the pan.

With all that in mind, where are these alleged short deck Hemi blocks coming from?

My good frriend Charlie Malyuke (R.I.P.) modified ten 383-400 blocks back in about 1980, in such a way that you could bolt the hemi heads on them. John Hagen used one to set the MPH record in Pro Stock, in fact, and was runner-up at the Pomona Finals in 1981. (It was the last year for lbs./cu. in. motors in Pro Stock, whatever year that was), losing by inches to Lee Shepard in the final. Wally Dyck, a Canadian racer, held the A/D record with one of those 383 Hemis for an extended period of time in the early '80s.

But, to get the Hemi heads onto that low-deck block involved machining "trenches" in the cylinder head deck area where it interfaces with the lifter valley, welding in bosses to accept the studs that are the top row of head attachments, and making room for the exhaust valve pushrods by digging eight "trenches" and filling them in with sheet metal (to seal off the water)... and then, there's that external drain hose to the pan...

Just a lot of stuff that would never get by tech in a S/S environment.

So, I'm wondering how this alleged Low Deck Hemi is accomplished....

Can anybody fill me in; I'm VERY curious...

Bill

01-17-2009, 01:33 AM	#8
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: HEMI'S ....SS/AH question ? Tell me something; there never was a short deck 426 Hemi block (not that ~I~ ever heard of, anyway.) The Hemi heads for those engines (426s) won't just bolt onto a 383/400 short deck block for three reasons: 1.The top row of studs on the Hemi heads will run smack into the top of the block deck of a wedge motor. 2. There is no pushrod clearance for the exhaust pushrods; the OEM Hemi blocks have 8 "troughs" for those pushrods to lie down in, and 3. There is no way, short of attaching an external return line, to get the oil that accumulates on top of the head in the rocker arm area, back to the pan. With all that in mind, where are these alleged short deck Hemi blocks coming from? My good frriend Charlie Malyuke (R.I.P.) modified ten 383-400 blocks back in about 1980, in such a way that you could bolt the hemi heads on them. John Hagen used one to set the MPH record in Pro Stock, in fact, and was runner-up at the Pomona Finals in 1981. (It was the last year for lbs./cu. in. motors in Pro Stock, whatever year that was), losing by inches to Lee Shepard in the final. Wally Dyck, a Canadian racer, held the A/D record with one of those 383 Hemis for an extended period of time in the early '80s. But, to get the Hemi heads onto that low-deck block involved machining "trenches" in the cylinder head deck area where it interfaces with the lifter valley, welding in bosses to accept the studs that are the top row of head attachments, and making room for the exhaust valve pushrods by digging eight "trenches" and filling them in with sheet metal (to seal off the water)... and then, there's that external drain hose to the pan... Just a lot of stuff that would never get by tech in a S/S environment. So, I'm wondering how this alleged Low Deck Hemi is accomplished.... Can anybody fill me in; I'm VERY curious... Bill __________________ Bill