2005 Hemi Engine Challenge Update

Seven of the eight finalists for our Hemi dyno challenge delivered their engines in time for the contest at Competition Cams in Memphis, Tennessee. If you think these engines look powerful on the dyno stands, you should see and hear them on the videos of the competition.

While the final scores are not tallied yet, all of the entries in the Hemi engine challenge have been dyno'd, and the power numbers are in. We have to say, we were impressed by each of the builders and the engines they brought to the challenge. We also want to thank all our sponsors and competitors for pitching in to make this year's engine challenge fun and exciting.

To ensure fairness, the order the engines were run was drawn at random. The following is the list of competitors in the order they ran, with the horsepower and torque numbers they made on their best pull. Remember, we're also factoring the cost of the engine and the manifold vacuum it produced, so the builder who made the most power is not necessarily the one who will win the contest.

Stay tuned for the final results of the challenge and be sure to pick up the next several issues of Mopar Muscle magazine for details about the challenge, the builders, and an in-depth look inside these potent Hemi engines.

Larry Shepard of Hemis Only in Akron, Ohio, had the pleasure of being the first competitor on Competition Cam's new Superflow 902 dyno. Unfortunately, a problem with the dyno caused Larry's engine to shut down, backfire, and then diesel backward for several seconds, causing at least one piston dome to be damaged. Larry completed the competition with a hurt motor and still posted respectable power numbers of 701.8 hp and 639.6 lb-ft.of torque. We can only guess how much power this potent dual-quad entry would have made had it not been damaged during qualifying.

Jeff Dickey and his team from J.D. Engine and Machine in Columbia, Missouri, brought this tunnel-ram-equipped, dual-Dominator-fed Hemi to the contest not just to compete, but to win. These guys can definitely handle working under pressure as they tuned their motor between pulls, making more power each time. If it weren't for some weak valvesprings causing valve float above 6,700 rpm, Jeff's numbers would certainly have been higher. Even with weak valvesprings, J.D. Engine and Machine posted the horsepower number to beat. How about 728.2 peak horsepower and 615.8 lb-ft. of torque!

Indy Cylinder Head is a name synonymous with Mopar power. Russ, Ken, and the folks at Indy have been providing top-quality, go-fast parts for Mopar enthusiasts for more than thirty years. Their cylinder heads and intakes were atop more than one of our competitors' engines, so we were eager to see what they could do. Unfortunately, several wiped cam lobes limited their output, but they still posted respectable numbers of 649 hp and 600.8 lb-ft. of torque. No doubt these numbers would have been higher if the cam had been up to par.