encyclopedia · engine

426 Street Hemi (R-code)

Hemispherical-combustion-chamber RB-derived 426. 425 horsepower gross. The Mount Olympus engine of the Chrysler muscle line.

The 426 Hemi is what made it onto the order sheet. Hemispherical combustion chambers, dual rocker shafts per head, two Carter AFB four-barrel carburetors on a cross-ram intake, period-rated at 425 horsepower gross at 5,000 rpm and 490 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. The rating was famously conservative — the engine made meaningfully more power than the cards admitted, and Chrysler's published rating allowed insurance companies to stop short of catastrophic premium inflation.

In 1970 a Hemi added roughly $800 to $900 to the order, against a base Super Bee in the $3,000s. Hemi cars are accordingly rare. The Six-Pack option (V-code) costs less and approached the Hemi's straight-line performance in most period road tests. The Hemi's value on the show field today is enormous; its value as a daily driver in 1970 was less obvious to the buyer choosing between options.

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