Who built the first hemispheric production engine?
I always thought it was Chrysler but I was wrong.
Forum Discussion
Lon-Str wrote:
Just a wild, wild shot - maybe Ford ? Way before my time as a racer, I remember something about a Ford flathead hemi, probably an aftermarket deal, so that probably wont count. Interesting.
I think you maybe thinking of Ardun heads.
The famous Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov and his brother developed Ardun heads which converted a flathead Ford V8 to an overhead valve engine. I'm not sure if the heads were hemi, but on the outside...ie; the valve covers look very Hemi. I saw a pair of Ardun head for sale in England back in the mid '70's.
Think these hemi heads came out in the '40's, maybe '30', well before Zora joined GM.
Chrysler did not have the first Hemi as others have pointed out. One of my vintage motorcycles has an English made Norton 750cc twin engine. The Norton twin was first introduced in 1948 I believe and it has a Hemi head.
Chrysler experimented with the hemi, in the '40's, not a V8 but on their straight eight I have heard.
