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From: Daven Anderson
Email: [email protected]
Remote Name: 199.174.224.8
Date: July 13, 2002
Time: 16:47:37
You see,at the time the early Hemi was THE desired hot-rod engine. Anyone reading the magazine would have wanted a 392 Hemi! But the 1959 Chrysler Golden Lion 413 wedge would not have been as desirable for the 1959 hot-rodder as there were no high-performance parts for that brand-new engine. My dad had a '40 Ford in 1959. He swapped in a built 331 Hemi that winter. There was a yard that had a virtually new 413 Golden Lion (only 1000 miles). He had considered it as it was smaller/lighter than the Hemi and not shabby in power output,but ultimately passed it up due to the lack of performance parts and transmission adapters. With the 331 he could use his choice of transmissions,but the 413 would have required the Torqueflite attached to it or a factory-type 3-speed that was not as strong as other manual transmissions that could be put behind the Hemi (like the '37 LaSalle unit he used). Dad does say that if he was building a '40 Ford today,that he would use the Mopar BB wedge. (an engine he grew very fond of in the '60's!.....)
