Mild Street Rod 56 354 vs 57 392 Hemi? Which One?

What are the pro's and cons of either in a carbed street rod application. Think Rat Rod

can't speak much for the 354's 392's when new my family had a few back in the day and put as much as 200K miles on them and still ran strong..I wish we still had dad's 58 Chrysler 300..real good motors..

The '92 is a raised block, the '54 has better flowing heads.
I'd say that either will work, the question is all the little stuff you put on the outside. If you have access to parts for either, go with the one you want.
I'm talking stuff like the dist, intake and carbs, and the water pump and thermostat housing. Valve covers, oil pump and pan, and mounts are the same. Damper and front accessories are pretty much the same too. Watch out for anything mounted to the heads, since that may be an issue. Adapters for transmissions will be the same, since your years are both without the extended bellhousing.

If you can get stuff for only one or the other, go with that. The '92 is heavier.

The 1954 to 1956 Chrysler hemi used the same basic blocks, heads, intake and so on. Both year 392 had different lifter angles, head and block mating surface angles differnt than the 331 nad 354. The 392 also had center sump oil pans, the 354 did not, they had rear sump pans and pickups I beleive the oil pans and pick up are interchangable If you have a 354 you could have the cranksahft offset stroke by offset grinding the rods down to BB Chevy rod journal sizes and use some of the aftermaket H beam rods, that would require a custom set of pistons but the 354 motor would be close to the same size as the 392 and still have thicker cylinder walls than the 392 has. I have ran ran and used of the early size Chrysler Hemi, 331, 354 and a bunch of 392, I believe the 331 had a 3.75 bore, the 354 had a 3.875 bore with the same stroke on both( I can't remember if the stroke was 3.0 or 3.25 or?. The 392 where 4.0 bore with a 3.91 stroke, if I'm remembering correctly still A common practice was to offset weld up the 331 and 354 cranks and then offset grind them back to stock rod size making a welded stroker They held up for a short period of time in the old fueler motors if you used the aftermarket four bolt main caps and didn't overdrive the snot out of the blower Noramlly asperated you should never hurt one of those motors, unless you get it really hot(10 head bolt motor ) detonate it a lot or run it out of oil The early Chrysler Hemi(331-354-392) are a lot better design than the 426 Hemi are

I may pick up a 354 4 barrel engine from a 56 New Yorker, 100% stock engine, ran when pulled, pretty much 100% complete minus a few small trinkets, carb to pan, torque converter to fan, with exhaust manifolds. I can buy it for $1,500.00 so it seems like a good deal. Another guy has a 392 but it's appart, missing all the tin, and is more money so it looks like the 354 is what I'll go with.

Especially for a R rod, the 354 will be perfect. Leave the patina and make sure it's healthy....

http://www.thehemi.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2851

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118764

Here it is, just landed on my garage floor.....Been a while since I've owned a "Whale" motor. Man! I forgot what huge & heavy monsters these things are!

In the prior owners garage

Ok, and now for a home for it, the 354 might be an easier swap and more appropriate than the 413 Long Ram engine for the 57 Plymouth?

Actually, if that "V" on the fender indicates a V8, the 354 might almost be a bolt in affair.

Since your not going to use that long ram 413......

But then, I'd have to pull the 360 out from under the work bench so I'd have a place to put the 413. I'd make the sacrifice though. Just saying. Gene

Yes, it's a V8 car, still has the bone stock 301 poly engine in it (good engine but a hamster makes more steam). Same trans bolts right up to the 354.

Quote:

---

Here it is, just landed on my garage floor.....Been a while since I've owned a "Whale" motor. Man! I forgot what huge & heavy monsters these things are!

---

great looking motor nice find