Driving the 426 Street Hemi - Thoughts

[EJ426]

Looking at the 66-67 cars with the Street Hemi and had an overall question about road manners - basically. Does anyone have any thoughts on how these cars drive around town in their factory stock, solid lifter configuration? Always loved them but was curious if they are too temperamental to be an occasional driver at stop lights, in traffic etc.

 

[pnora]

They run and drive perfect. If set up right there is no reason you can not drive it for a whole season without lifting the hood. Main problem is fingers that did not know what they were doing. An old 426
Hemi is a mild lamb compared to today's street tuned beasts.

 

[dan juhasz]

I've had one that had mild build and one bone stock, loved them both. Very well mannered. Oh and they go like stink !!

 

[Runcharger]

Nothing wrong with them at all. When the carbs are right you leave them alone, electronic ignition is a nice and troublefree addition. Stock, they went through plugs more than average but if you have the carbs dialed in, intake manifold sealed, good valve seals it shouldn't be a problem. Solid lifter clearance usually is a yearly thing to check in my experience.
The Hemi gets a bad driveability rap from owners that never had them set up right to start with. Lots of these Hemis for sale at auction or just assembled and listed for sale on line probably put out about 300HP and have vacuum and oil leaks everywhere.

 

[R413]

I have an original one with original camshaft, std bore pistons, converter, 3.23 gears with 26” tall tires.

It runs and drives great. Idles well and never wants to die or load up. Not much different than a 440 HP, other than a more choppy idle the converter stall speed.

has good low end power and drive ability with lots of power when wide open.

 

[gtx6970]

I drove mine almost 7500 miles in the past 18 months.
Not everyday.......
But just about every week im somewhere with it.. sometimes 2 or 3 places in a weeks time.
Mostly cruise ins. Cars and coffee type events. And the occasional car show.
Wife and I will even take it to occasional breakfast or dinner dates on the weekends.


Actually drove it to Phoenix Az last weekend.

Out here ....i can drive it year round..
But not everyday.....it likes gas to much.

Now that i have the coronet.
The hemi can relax a little .shes earned it.

 

[ckessel]

Make sure there are plenty of Blue Oval and GM prey for it to have a complete diet to consume.

 

[Jerry Hall]

I have two all stock 67's and they drive like grandma's grocery getter until you wake them up with the go petal. I have another that is somewhat temperamental until it warms up, but it's somewhat a performance build.

 

[64BEL]

Mine is an original, stock '66 right down to the original dual point distributer and solid lifters with a 4-speed. I drive it 80+ miles each way to SE WI Mopar shows a couple of times a year with no problems. It cruises down the road just fine. I did rebuild the carbs soon after I bought it, which made it really purr. And the factory AFBs are easy to rebuild and tune.

 

[1969VAGTX]

For all of you guys that frequently drive a 426 Hemi car, what type of fuel are you running in them?

 

[69 hemibee]

For all of you guys that frequently drive a 426 Hemi car, but type of fuel are you running in them?

I run 93 in mine

 

[Jerry Hall]

For all of you guys that frequently drive a 426 Hemi car, but type of fuel are you running in them?

I run 100 octane LL AV gas, sometimes mixed with some 90 octane non ethanol.

 

[64BEL]

I run 91 non-ethanol premium unleaded with a few gallons of 110 mixed in from time to time.

 

[dan juhasz]

Just 93 octane with a couple ounces of marvel mystery oil

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have built and owned several over the years and driven on the street from mild to wild like my current set up. I run it on 93 pump gas on the street and VP NO2 race fuel on spray.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Use to drive mine all over. Drove 360 miles one way to Niagara Falls with 3.54 gears

. Later on drove to Rochester NY 250 miles with a crossram on it gas mileage wasn't so great. Go out for coffee with friends all the time.

 

[Edward Zeliesko]

what type of oil? for street hemi ??

 

[AR67GTX]

If you still have a flat tappet cam you need an oil with adequate ZDDP in it. I like an oil weight that still gives me at least 20psi at hot idle. I use Rottela 15W40 in several of my cars. I’ve also used Joe Gibbs “Driven” dino oil but it’s kind of expensive. I don’t waste money putting synthetic oil into hobby cars that don’t get thousands of miles put on them yearly.

 

[Edward Zeliesko]

If you still have a flat tappet cam you need an oil with adequate ZDDP in it. I like an oil weight that still gives me at least 20psi at hot idle. I use Rottela 15W40 in several of my cars. I’ve also used Joe Gibbs “Driven” dino oil but it’s kind of expensive. I don’t waste money putting synthetic oil into hobby cars that don’t get thousands of miles put on them yearly.

is that reg oil or hd

 

[AR67GTX]

Heavy duty is usually associated with heavier weight oils so it depends on what weight you select. Rotella 15W40 is definitely considered a heavy duty oil. Rotella is marketed for Diesel engines but is an excellent oil for older type motors needing additional protection additives for flat tappet cams and high stress components. Driven HR in 15W50 would be considered heavy duty due to its weight. I’m not sure if HR in 10W30 is considered heavy duty or passenger car oil.