I’ve been intrigued by the ads for Dodge’s new Demon. 800+ horsepower, banned by the NHRA as being too fast for a production car. What they don’t mention is that it is banned only because at its ET the rule book requires a roll cage. So weld some pipe to the interior and go have some fun. For the more timid perhaps the 700+ HP Hemi powered Hellcat is a better choice, although from the reports that I’ve read even the Hellcat is quite a handful to drive on the street.
The ad got me to thinking, just what is a Hemi? Simply it is just domed (hemispherical) combustion chambers in the cylinder head. One of the earliest examples of a hemi would be the Fiat 120 HP GP Racer in 1907. Others include Stutz in 1912 with 4 valves per cylinder, Jaguar’s XK engine, and Porsche’s 911 flat 6. Chrysler trademarked the term ‘Hemi’ in the ’60s. Modern engineers (or are they thermo-dynamists?) know that the hemi shape does not produce the optimal spark flash pattern and use a kidney shape. But I guess that ‘Kidney Power’ would not have the panache of ‘Hemi Power.’ Now that Fiat owns Chrysler it looks like things have come full circle.

Dr. Doolin MG Engine Rebuild
DVD, 90 mins. 1993

You’ve been asking for it, and after years we finally obtained a copy. This copy has been re-worked from the original VHS tape (no, it’s not pirated) so it’s a little grainy. It’s in Brit-speak, but I think we will all know the terminology. He does break for tea, but I think that’s just a euphemism for malt soda. The disc is broken down into six sections:

1. Intro
2. Engine and trans removal
3. Engine dismantling
4. Cylinder head dismantling
5. Cylinder head rebuild
6. Engine rebuild

All of this in an hour and a half, probably a little faster than you can do it in your garage, even with Steve Skeggs’ help.

~~ Bill Mennell