mikelj

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have a '64 Dodge Polara 500 I am thinking about trading up to a '-70-'71 Cuda or Challenger. I have never had an E-body and always had 383s, but am interested in getting a 440 6pack or Hemi. I know about the price differences, but I am interested in hearing about how the two compare on roadability, drivability, reliability, etc. I like to drive my cars a lot, and have really enjoyed the bullet-proof aspects of my '64 383. How do the Hemi and 440 6pack engines compare? Thanks for any opinions and insights, thanks.

Silverick

The Hemi defininitely has the WOW factor but, if you want to keep things very simple..... the 440 Six Pack would probably be the more streetable and reliable. More than not, the Hemi catches the 440 on the big end of the track.
I do have to add: A friend of mine had a '68 Charger Hemi/727, back in the early 80s, and the rides in that car..... are still with me today!!
I'm sure that there are multiple opinions......

bremereric

I am for a 440 with a high rise intake and a performance carb. Out run the 426 Hemi 7 out of 7 days of the week.

440roadrunner

I think this all gets down to personal preference.

Sixpacks look impressive, and there are those who claim they run them with very little attention. But "back in the day" I didn't find that to be the case. I was the second owner of my 70 sixpack RR, and 10-12 mpg is all that thing would "do" with the sixpack, even after lots of diddle both by the original owner (a friend of mine) and I. He had put an 800 Holley and Edelbrock on it before I bought it, and that 800 would get "not quite" 14 mpg, meaning 13.8 or a touch better. This was with headers, 4 speed, 3.54 Dana, and G-60x15s in the rear, and "hang on" A/C.

A house fire "fixed" most photos I have, but here is one poor photo of my old car, in 73 or 4. The lights where the turn signals belong are 4537 aircraft landing lights --100 watts apiece. I mounted rectangular turn signals out of some other Mopar up in the grille. It had BIG (back then) side exit pipes just before the rear wheels. Air grabber, black hood, I wish to hell I had it back. The reason there are no "birds" or dustrails is that some girl had A-holed the car a few years earlier, and it got a repaint. I had them leave the birds off thinking the insurance co. would be "easier." I had a 340!!! in the car for awhile, and had a HELL of a time convincing the ins. co. to lower the rates. I finally convinced them that a Dart/ Duster was a heck of a lot lighter, and that 290 HP or whatever they were (71 engine) should not be a "performance engine." It got over 17 mpg with that 340, cornered great, and would beat or stay with a stock 383 RR.



Lots of guys WHO DID NOT HAVE hemis loved to claim they were a PITA, but I didn't find this to be true. I don't know about fuel mileage, but did you REALLY buy that hemi for fuel mileage???

I also did not find "back then" that a sixpack would typically outrun a hemi. What I found is, if one or the other was in a little better tune, had a little better tires, or driver, etc, that might make the difference. In their day, they were both awesome engines.

The thing I remember to this day, is how nimble and "small" that big engine made the RR seem. It had the "trak pak" heaviest handling you could buy, and later, I put radials on it. If some putz was pukin' along in a 45-55 zone 4 lane, all you had to do was thoughtlessly wiggle the wheel, churn it down a gear, and give it "just" a little throttle, and most people couldn't do a thing about it. You were PAST the idiot.

There were a few times that some moron stopped at a stop sign, pokin' along. I can remember pulling out immediately behind AS HE WAS ACCELERATING and STILL pass 'im on the left, if no traffic. 2nd, 3rd gear, it was all over with.

Biggest mistake I ever made, was in 74-75, just after I got out of the Navy, the Chivvy dealer in our small town had taken in a Hemi Cuda in trade, with a rod through the block. They wanted 1200 bucks for an otherwise nice car.

Can you spell "kicking yourself ever since?"

Archer

mike -

it's the same old story - What do you want to do with the car?

For a street or street/strip car, you're not going to beat a moderate 440, with a single 4V. The only problem with a high rise intake, is that they shift the power band into the higher rpm range, great for the track but less than great for the street. A well designed dual plane would be the way to go, even if it lacks some, OK a lot of the "wow" factor.

Street hemis (not race hemis that really have no business on the street) have been pretty much "detuned", so while not slouches, kinda like a fish outta water. They do look great at cruise ins and shows though.

Archer

mikelj

Thanks for all the input. I don't want to race the car, my main activities are cruise-ins, car shows (lots), and just taking rides around the country side and mountains on nice sunny days. But since I live in a rural area, much of this activity needs a 100-200 mile or so trip to do. I like to do most all the work on the old cars myself. I am familiar with multi-carbs, I have a bone-stock '67 427 Corvette with a six pack, solid lifter engine. It actually gets 15 mpg on the highway, the secondary carbs are on vacuum release, not progressive. I have wanted an E-body with a big engine for a while, I love my '64 Polara 500, it is an exact copy of the one I had in high school and that also was a great road car with no issues. Guess I will think about it some more, just not sure I can justify twice (or more) the price for a Hemi vs. a 440 6pack.

440roadrunner

If you are familiar and comfortable with the Corvette 435HP setup, you should feel right at home with the Mopar Sixpack. They are very similar, and by the way -- the 70/ later sixpacks WERE vacuum, just like your 'Vette.

BuckNeccid

Yeppers, ditto on the vacuum six packs. LOVED mine in a 70 GTX, 3.23 gears. I'd vote for the 440/6, and I think you'd be more than happy if you have a 427/6 now. VERY similar and pretty forgiving in daily driving.

cudacharger

Either motor 440-6 / hemi will get the job done......the sound alone of the hemi above 5G coming into it's own is priceless.

Best of luck with your selection.

440roadrunner

This might be fun to dream about, but in reality..............not true

If you took a 426 wedge and a hemi, and built the two to similar power levels, cam, compression, exhaust, you would not be able to tell the difference. I won a sizeable bet on that subject years ago.

cudacharger

I agree a 426 wedge / 426 hemi very hard to tell the sound difference with same specs....I was pointing out the sound difference between a 440-6 / Hemi above 5g.

robertherr

6 packs are cool to look at but 2x4s are the way to go (lol) the issue is people who think they know fiddle with them once its up and running keep hands off never had a issue running 2x4 760 cfm

robertherr

On the subject of sounds nothing comes close to a 440 and a big blower winding it self out under full boost

cudacharger

Blown hemi