I love to read car magazines, I have a collection that includes the first "Super Stock and Drag Illustrated" that I bought in 1968. Reading articles on original, often brand new HEMI cars is interesting.
One item that is mentioned in at least four original articles is oil consumption, lots of it! The worst case was the Ray Brock article in 65' about the single four barrel, 4 speed "rally" car that Chrysler loaned him. With a 4:30 gear, a quart of oil every 150 miles!
Another, on a 69 Charger with 3.54 gear, stated a quart every tank of gas, (200 miles?)
An article in a modern Muscle Cars, issue talks about a 66'Satelite 3.54 gear four speed that slowed? his consumption to a quart every 600 miles by using Royal Tritan straight 60 weight!
I have a HEMI that is strictly cruise/street car. It uses more oil than I like although all clearances, valve seals, intake sealing and spark plug tube, no compression washer on plugs, etc. has been done.
My question is, if you put MILES on your HEMI, have you noticed more oil consumption than a similar build wedge engine?
Or do any of you have any experience, or theory as to why this is? Just curious.
Another thought, If HEMI engines used this amount of oil, how did the early NASCAR teams deal with an engine that turned 7,500 rpm for 500 miles? Also, did the Ford and GM NASCAR engines have oil usage? Being built for this type of racing, I assume clearances etc. were optimized for the continuous high rpm, so as the HEMI was made "street able" in 66', did the "race" clearances/design that caused oil consumption just come along to the street version?
I have found MANY comments about oil consumption being one of the high cost/high maintenance reasons that so few were purchased. The word was out, buy a HEMI and have it worked on all the time and add oil all the time!
Your thoughts, experiances?