Hemi Blocks on the chopping block?

What is it with these blocks recently cast going out into the market place with porous, core shift and or hairline cracks?

Back in 2012, a friend of mine purchased a brand new Mopar Hemi block from Chrysler for his Hemi Super Bee project. His receipt indicates that the (Quality control or lack thereof)cleared the block and gave it a clean bill of health to be sold in 2011.

He's finally been able to acquire all the part$ needed along with the fund$ to build the bad boy through a reputable Hemi builder here and now finds out that the block is a mess.

So what gives?

Is he stuck with it all?

He still has his purchase receipt from the dealer that he bought it from.

Is this what most new Hemi builders are facing these days along with hideous stories of aftermarket suppliers/casting facilities not delivering on their promises?

Is there such a hole in the supply and demand that one has to look for a stock old seasoned block with his/her fingers crossed?

Gee, short from just giving up on the hobby, my friend has now hinted on just going with an old seasoned and standard Wedge.

What a shame we face in this day and time. The fact that we as a unique brand can't get a decent honest to goodness BLOCK and a date in this century to actually receive it.

Typical Chrysler,Westgate and others had those porous blocks that had leaks in the oil galleys,some external to the inside and some to the water jackets.It's best to buy aftermarket blocks like Bill Mitchels and others but they also have some minor issues,mostly machine work that needs corrections.The old seasoned blocks on the internet is even a worst crapshoot.

Give up on the hobby or give up on the brand?

Tony doesn't care about any of this. When a person can make a phone call, give 'em a credit card number and 3 days later have a new 1000HP 565 sitting on the floor for $17k, you have to think about it. Do you really want to deal with a bunch of used up, hand me down, patched up stuff or "new" parts that require major machine work or repairs to be usable?

Are there any quality issues with KB stuff?

Almost any block you buy will have issues. The old stuff is really used up..Find someone who stands by their stuff and spend the money.

Who is that one out of all the current vendors that stands by their work?

you can have 100% trust in the quality of any block
you buy from Bob George

Numerous folks told me as soon as I ordered my R3 block do not sit on it! Get it checked! thankfully it was all good.

I only had 2 issues w/ my KB hemi block. 1st was a couple of the lifter bores were a little tight. Easily fixed w/ a light honing. 2nd was the front counterweight on my 4.5" stroke Callies crank actually hit some of the webbing in the block and needed a little clearancing. Not a big deal at all, but did surprise me. Glad I caught it in the mockup stage. The rods all cleared just fine.
Naturally there was a lot of clearancing to be done for the pushrods, but that's to be expected.

They are almost ready to go right off the truck but you have to plan ahead. If you want one for NEXT year order it today. Not a big deal for some but a big issue for the "I want it tomorrow crew". The Indy blocks are nice too but be prepared to spend more money on it before its race ready.

I actually just got off the phone w/ HP Performance and they ARE making blocks. They got restarted recently after being down for a couple years after their initial launch...that was the last I'd heard and didn't know they were up and running again.
The blocks are aluminum, hemi or wedge, tall deck or low deck. None in stock b/c they go out as fast as he gets them in. Should have more available to ship in about 3 weeks and hopefully by mid year he'll have a bunch in stock ready to ship...that's the goal.
VERY nice guy to talk to and from everything I've heard about their blocks, I would not hesitate to use one.
HP Performance 865-310-7513

Sure seems like a good thing w/ KB being tough to deal with lately and Indy being, well, Indy.

Good luck with HP Performance,Dave is a great guy but we tried buying a halve dozen blocks from him but after a few years of casting holdups and machine work corrections as well as other issues we went on hold.We haven't heard anything from Dave for the past year.

He told me he had to change partners, get his equipment back, get everything set up again, etc. in the past couple years. Sounds like he has it rolling again now.

To the OP. Make sure you check that block for any breaches of the oil return holes to the water jackets. My block had this and I did not discover it until just before initial fire up!! I had to take the motor out of the car. Tear the entire block down and clean it all out and re-assemble it after I fixed it.

Just look down the oil return holes with a flashlight and make sure there are no holes entering from the sides. It is easier to spot from the bottom of the block. Looking up from where the oil return holes enter the oil pan area.

I fixed the problem by putting a tight fitting sleeve inside the oil return hole with some metal epoxy. I had my machine shop at work make the sleeve for me. So far so good.

Thank you 8sec and the rest on here.

I'll pass this info along to my friend and if he indeed gets some kind of refund, he can then give the business to HP or who ever else is in the market with some good honest products.
I also will suggest Bob George as a supplier to him or any others.

In hindsight, the one good thing I've found with some block families is that some are/have been exempt from hard core abuse depending on the chassis that they served in.
These engines such as the 318's-360's 383-400's-and some 440's served in station wagons, some trucks and most full size C-bodies.
To the contrary, the A-B and E bodies with 340's -360's- 383's, 440's and Hemis tend to be a crap shoot since they have probably ingested some level of abuse with the 340 and Hemi being the kings of pain themselves.

In this particular case, what I hate most is that with an honest 5+K down on a NEW block, it should not be useless junk and eclipse anything the old blocks endured. I totally understand the usual machining, clearances, decking, deburring, cleaning,etc. but none of that should come to a halt as a result of poor castings and or QC.

Rejects have been around since the beginning of mass manufacturing, but they should make the junk pile and not the in-stock pile to the public.

Heck, a sick Elephant from birth is truly an Elephant in the sick room.

You people that send KB deposits are playing with fire. That's all I'm going to say.

I talk with a builder not long ago .told me he wouldn't deal with hp because they have took people money and not delivered on blocks..but things could change. .

Regardless of quality, its a miracle FCA is even continuing to produce and sell iron hemi blocks. Knock on wood.

Sorry to hear of such problems effecting area 51

If anyone is interested we recently purchased a complete new hemi engine and it is now for sale.This engine has never been run and features all machine work completed"balanced and blueprinted" and assembled.We will disassemble it for buyers inspection and can offer it as a long or short block.If interested contact AJ@ BGR 412-216-4727
Also be carefull of any hemis on the internet,ebag/craplist and others,we have had many customers buy block/heads/cranks and misc parts that turn out to be total junk.
Thanks to Hemi Fred and others for your respectful comments.

Who's to say they are even making or having any made at all at this point.
This was a 2011 block and probably the last of a batch or a bad batch at that.
I know it takes mad capital, time consuming to make jigs/molds for such ventures, but if you are half way there or there at all, why not make good quality work and control and be a proud supplier be you a huge conglomerate or a small independent outfit.
This is why off shore companies are having a laugh at us and waiting in the wings to give us even more crappy stuff.

PS. I know quite a few brand X guys that are in the closet about their respect and love of the Pentastar kind and would love to build, own and race 'em, but all this hooplah plus huge long waits hearing crickets without reason keeps them exiting at stage left.
I know this happens within other camps as well, but to a certain degree, not as much or rampant. At least they have a whole host of options and stock.

As far as the HP blocks go, if you're skeptical, I'd wait until he had them in stock and ready to ship before committing. He said they should have a good supply by the middle of the year.
I have zero experience w/ them, I just got curious this morning and gave them a call.

This is why I respect the Elephant man and your collective efforts to keep the tusks pearly white.

This kind of stuff is enough to give someone HEMIroids.

All kindin' aside, I love the sound of a Behemoth both in civil street trim and in all outlandish thug mode.
"Haven't been passed, till you've been passed by a Hemi" as they say.
Pertaining to another thread on here, people ask me in bazaar why so light weight conscious. I answer: "Keep it light and with a relatively stock block, you can have fun in the sun"
Though this is the first decade that my car has actually seen Sun, it was a night crawler for some time. LOL.

FHO forhemisonly is another good option
http://www.forhemisonly.com/

HP Performance is investing in STEEL molds for his blocks this spring. They are expensive but will be very durable for long production. I have both a Hemi and a 440 block coming in.

When I get mine in will be a good indication when he's ready to fill orders. I post as soon as they show up. I hope it will be soon!!

Got of the phone with Mopar and they have said that the G2 blocks are in production again. Should be available in a couple of months.
Was asking about the R3 and G3 blocks and he had nothing but told me aboiut the G2. Matt

I just listed one in the classified section, if anyone is interested.

I was on the phone with Ken at KB the other day getting the info on the lifter angle on my low deck block. This is 20 years after Hardesty bought it. I have gotten great customer support from Ken.

I mentioned how upset folks on Moparts are for the long waits and he took the time to 'splain how the company that made the cores had been screwed by the EPA and they had to change their process, which was causing porosity in the block which does not show it's ugly mug until well into the machining process. He said they have fixed that problem and that blocks are coming out better than ever. Anybody wanting a alum block should call him and give them a chance.

And he seemed interested in making a alum SB - he didn't know about the Ritter block.

Bob George has supplied more blocks to Moparts members than all others mentioned combined. I have never heard of a single complaint. that is hard to beat. He is accessible nearly 24/7 for questions and takes care even of the smallest problem himself.

Yes sir, Mopar is still making them. New one in my basement (P5153942AC), ordered through the local dealership. Only real issue I had was the threads on the external oil pickup, not a big deal though.

He bought it in 2012 , more than likely he is SOL , MP has NO WARRANTY on Race parts ... Good Luck to him.

What is wrong with it ???

Seasoned blocks are an unknown, most are used up race engines that are usually decked a lot making it a pain trying to fit new heads and intakes to.

If he finds an original that was not raced it will be $$$$$$ because of it's restoration value.

about 3yrs ago I built a hemi for a friend, he bought the block new 6yrs prier from a chry dealer, it took him awhile to save (young family) for the rest of it, any way we got it all together and while priming it on the engine stand a chunk of casting blew out in the back of the block by one of the oil passages below the cam, [ Moparts Family Site - Keep it Friendly ]? anyway he went back to the dealer and they call Mopar Performance , they gave them my name and they called me for the details , I sent them many pictures etc. he questioned the time span and I said not everyone can afford shell out the cash all at once when you're a young father and family, after two months of screwing around back and forth they gave him a new world hemi block! had to send the other one back and they picked it up from my shop. I was supprised to say the least.
Russ

This sounds promising being that my friend never even assembled the block at all. It had been in the crate all this time and He has his receipts.
Hopefully Chrysler is smart and fair and replaces this bad block. The machinist even said it should not have left the foundry at all after the so-called inspection.
Thank God they found the problem before Mr Murphy's Law would had.