426 C.I.D. HEMI Build and Dyno

June 21st, 2017

The 426 HEMI engine is a true icon of the muscle car era. It was an option in such memorable automobiles as the 1955 Chrysler 300M, the 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, the 1970 Dodge Super Bee, and the 1970 Plymouth Superbird.

Nick Paranitis, of Nick’s Garage in Quebec, Canada has made a name for himself by building and selling HEMI engines. Nicks Mopar engines can be found in some of the most critically recognized Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth restorations in the world.

This video introduces us to Nick and documents his breaking point. You see, Nick is plum fed up with building the engines that he loves and selling them for exorbitant amounts of money – he just wants to build one for himself.

Nick had this 30-year old 426 HEMI just laying around rusting in the garage and decided to treat it to a stock rebuild. Everything inside this HEMI is as close to factory as available in today’s market. Even the camshaft, intake, and carbs (dual-4 barrelx) are stock. He even opted to go with a points type ignition system. The one notable difference is that the cylinders are bored .030 over stock. This was necessary to remove scoring on the inside of the cylinder walls. That actually increases cubic inches just a bit (432).

This clip takes us through the build – step-by-step – and treats us to an awesome series of dyno tests. Chrysler rated this engine at 425hp but that was nearly five decades ago. The question is: Can Nick’s stock build bring the HEMI back to all its original glory?

Check out the video for the answer.

 

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