|
|
|
|
Original Message
|
| Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here |
| By P - 11/29/2001 5:30:28 PM; IP 66.89.75.42 |
http://aerowarriors.com/cgi-bin/af.cgi?rf=http://www.superbird.com/88daytona.html
Okay FE fans, here's a link for you to delve deeply into for the real facts on the hemi. This is a MoPar link too, so it's about as biased as it gets toward the hemi.
The part I like is this: When RICHARD PETTY quit driving for SloPar, and came to Ford, guess what? He beat the best hemi SloPar could put on the track. Bottom line here: Richard Petty deserves more credit than the motor SloPar was running, and that's a fact. Hey, put the man in that blue Ford fastback, paint a number 43 on the door, and post a win. Simple.
Now if you want to brag, the FE won more NASCAR races than the hemi did, by a wide margin.
In 1963-64-and-65 the FE dominated everything really bad. In 1964 MoPar ran a non-production racing prototype called the hemi, which won some races, but hell, it wasn't sold in a production car so it was outlawed. Chrysler cried, but Ford could have also built a non-production racing prototype (called the CAMMER) and run it too, which they did and were also not allowed to run it.
You'll see from the link I posted, that the 427 was giving Chrysler "all they could stand", even when Chrysler products were being driven by one verrrrry talented Richard Petty.
The hemi did win more races in 1966 and 1967, actually about three to one, but these victories were not enough to overcome the total dominance Ford had in the previous three years (Ford racked up 101 NASCAR victories during those three years, to Chevy 9, and Chrysler 35 or so, can't remember exact number for Chrysler right now, but the 9 for Chevy is accurate).
What people have to remember is this, and I think RJP will agree. The Chevy 409 was king for a while. Ford started shooting at it with the FE, in various forms, and in 1963-1/2 Ford introduced the motor that was "designed" to kill the 409. And it did. 409 sales slipped from 17,000 units, to 8000 units, to 2500 units in three years, and then it was over for em, and they decided they were not going to have "a racing program" which translated means "we aint got enough motor to compete" (with that plank head boat anchor of theirs).
So it can be said that Ford drew a bead on the best of the day, which was probably the Chevy 409.
Then Ford dominated badly for three years. In the interim, Chrysler was drawing a bead on the FE, and specifically designed a motor (the improved hemi) to kill the FE 427. Enter the new and improved hemi, which was a totally NEW engine design, intended to do one thing, and that was to beat Fords. It did, but it did not dominate without a fight. The hemi only had TWO YEARS of a higher winning percentage, and this was 1966 and 1967, when BloPar won about three to one.
Ford then won a higher percentage of races (by a hair) during the next two years, and then the big block NASCAR endurance racing era was just about gone. Both sides introduced their Aero Cars, and it was just about a draw. Nobody could say they dominated.
During the latter years, the Boss 429 "semi hemi" was introduced, but it had some problems getting into the W column fresh out of the box, so Ford continued to use the 427, and did rack up some nice wins. The Boss finally came into it's own, and managed to kick ass all by itself. It was an awesome motor in it's own right.
Now you wonder aboutthe point I'm trying to make.
WELL here IT IS!
The point is, NOBODY STAYED ON TOP FOR VERY LONG. Chevy was there, Pontiac was there for a while before Chevy, actually, then along came Ford, then came Chrysler, then came Ford again, and then they changed to small block racing and Chevy came along for an extended time frame, blah blahhhhhh blahhhhhhhh.
The point is, back in the musclecar era when the 427 was at it's peak, engineers were working overtime to outfox, outpolitic, and out engineer the other side. To stay on top meant you had to have a hell of a racing budget. Ford outspent Chrysler, and totally blew GM away. Much of the Ford money went into keeping the FE competitive. Hey, didn't they have something like SIXTEEN different pistons that were sold for the 427, not to mention the scores of em they used only for racing??
So if you say which motor is (or was) better, you have to take into consideration the chronology, and evaluate what kind of power the motor was offering to the general public for street use (hemi didn't appear on the street until 1966, and Ford won LeMans that year with a very refined product), and what the motor was doing in the endurance racing circuit.
I personally don't give the drag racing records as much creedence as the endurance racing, due to the fact that the Factory did the endurance racing to a much higher level, albeit through Holman Moody, etc., but drag racing always seemed to be way down on the priority list. Therefore, endurance racing is where Ford spent the bucks on the FE. Drag racing had the same great motor, but always was in a heavier production car (Cyclone being a notable lightweight exception). The Pontiac GTO, for instance, offered good power in a lighter car. Ford offered better power in a heavier car (Galaxie), so what does that prove?
As development evolved, from Chevy 409 to FE 427, to Chrysler hemi, to CAMMER, to Boss 429, then to Chevrolet porcupine (which came out too late to run NASCAR) one thing was certain. When Ford pulled the plug on a motor, it was pulled big time, and parts dried up, and racers were left to fend for themselves. The CAMMER SOHC 427 program was an example. Poof, it was gone. The Boss 429 program was also similar, poof, it was gone too. Chrysler maintained support for racers, and as a result of this support and a fine motor (but a heavy one) they managed to make a lot of stink on the drag strips in subsequent years. Had Ford done the same with their Boss 429, and the 427 FE for that matter, all of these Ford motors would have kicked a lot more |
|
|
This thread, so far...
|
|
|
|
Post A Response
|
|
|
|
|
|