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331 Marine Hemi 1955

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2002 10:33 am
by BoatHemi
Looking for information on a mild 671 setup for my 1955 22' Chris Craft with the 331 Hemi. Need info on parts, manifolds, and pully setup's. 8)

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2002 4:27 pm
by DAVE94LIGHTNING
Got any pics of your Hemi in the boat? I have a late 60's Hondo flatbottom with the 331 hemi with 354 heads that i'm building up right now. I'd like to get some ideas on what I could do to make the motor look better and pick up some performance.

I want to stick to a single 4 bbl since I just rebuilt my holley and am on a very tight budget. I was thinking paint/powdercoat as many parts as possible, braided lines throughout, rebuild the heads and hopefully throw it all back together without much of a motor rebuild at all.

Thanks. Dave.

331 hemi

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2002 4:44 pm
by BoatHemi
I don't have any pictures however it is an ugly duck as she sits the best part is the chrome valve covers, the rest is blue and rust. I will probally go to a sinbgle 4bb setup as the carps on it are from 1958 and have problems. a single marine 450 go for about 450 a pop. plus my goal is to put a 671 on her. since she rests in a mahogany motor box there is no reason to polish her up.. is there any difference in the 331 heads vs 354 heads?

331/354 heads

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2003 12:45 am
by IndustrialHemiGuy
The later 331 heads had 1 15/16" intake valves and the 354 heads had 2" intake valves as did the 392 , Dean

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:51 pm
by Bailiesdad
I have never seen a blower that could be adapted to a Chrysler Marine engine, no where to drive the blower.

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:58 pm
by 392heminut
Bailiesdad wrote:I have never seen a blower that could be adapted to a Chrysler Marine engine, no where to drive the blower.
Do the marine drives run off what would be the front of the motor in a car? If thats the case I can see where the distributor would be a real interference problem for the blower drive.

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 3:20 pm
by Bailiesdad
392heminut wrote: Do the marine drives run off what would be the front of the motor in a car? If thats the case I can see where the distributor would be a real interference problem for the blower drive.
Here we have a lack of understanding and terminology. Many people that post here and elsewhere do not understand or have knowledge of the Chrysler Marine engine assembly. The Chrysler Marine engines had massive GEAR CASES mounted to the machined flat surface of the block that house gears that run the camshaft, tach drive,hydraulic pump, fuel pump, and generator. The snout of the crankshaft has a massive double gear installed, by press and double keyed fit, that drives the transmission and all the other accesories above.. This case carries the same oil as the crankcase as it is oiled thru the pressure regulating ferrel in the cranksahft. The cranksahft snout is drilled so the oil pump forces oil into the gear case and back into the transmission, excess oil drains back into the gear case then into the oil pan. These gear cases are bolted and sealed to the oil pan, block and transmission. The sides of the gear cases act as mounting bosses for the motor mounts. The engine is mounted in a boat with the transmission to the transom (back of boat). As I stated, noone has ever come up with a system to drove a blower on one of these motors.

What would the distributor have to do with this? Mr moderator could you give an example of where a 471-671-871 blower would interfere with a distributor? (Are you saying people would try to mount a blower on the engine BACKWARDS?) :o

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:39 am
by 392heminut
In most drag boats it appears that the engine is mounted backwards and the drive is ran off what would be the front of the engine in a car. I'm not familiar with all the different setups for drag boats and was questioning if blowers are ever ran off the rear of the engine (flywheel end), and if so I could see where this would be a problem with the Chrysler hemi due to the distributor being at the back of the engine. My previous post is probably confusing, as I mistakenly said 'front' of the motor when I ment back.

As an aside, what IS your PROBLEM with my moderator status? My user name is 392Heminut, NOT Mr. Moderator!

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2004 11:48 am
by Bailiesdad
Can one use car or industrial cranks in a Chrysler Marine engine, can one use the same car cams?

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:50 pm
by Mike's 331
Hi all, OK do I have this right? I thought the true Marine crank did not have a step for a chain driven timing gear and since it uses a 2 gear ,gear drive it must rotate backwards using a reverse rotation cam.That would be a Marine engine used in something like an old shrimp boat or something.The Hot Rod boats I've seen use a V drive where the motor sits backwards but rotates in the correct direction with the drive reversing the rotatioin of the prop since it only has 2 gears also.
Since I'm here check out my question on the 331-354-392 section on cams.I've been a Chevy guy forever but can't wait to build this 331.

marine cam shaft

Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 4:59 pm
by thomasholmes
my M45S 331 marine hemi certainly requires a marine cam shaft that I paid dearly for after it sat on the inventory shelf for almost 50 years.
check out Marysville Marine, Marysville, MI for your Chrysler Marine parts.
hold on to your wallet!

wrong motor

Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:12 pm
by raw4mrw
Most of the blown motors that you see in drag boats are car 426 style motors adapted to marine use that keep the car water pump assembly. With a 331 354 392 marine motor there are no pulleys or belts used to drive anything, everything is gear drive. The gears are located in between the motor and the transmission. To hook up a blower you would need to custom make a pulley to drive off of the flywheel because the motors normal front is bolted to the transmission. Even then I am not sure if the motor would turn in the correct direction to drive a blower. 331s came in clockwise rotation and counter clockwise rotation. I have the rebuild manual for a m45 331 if you need any tech specks. My advice would be to leave a blower off. The parts for the old marine hemis are almost impossible to find and when you do expect to get a case of sticker shock.
PS sure you have a 331 most of them came with dual single barrel carbs on them the 354 had four barrels on them?

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 4:21 pm
by firepower354
Turbo?

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:42 pm
by raw4mrw
Not with a water cooled exhaust system. Don't even think of trying to run with out the water in the exhaust either! Bonfires in the middle of the lake are a pretty sight unless you are the wood provider. :D

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:14 pm
by firepower354

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 1:28 pm
by raw4mrw
From the picture the exhaust isnt water cooled. The motors are set up to dump the exhaust straight out the motor. OK if you run inboard /outboard set up with the motors in back but has several disadvantages for a pure inboard motor setup that is mounted in the middle of the boat. Run that exhaust out the back of the boat and not only will the wood transom be heated the exhaust pipes will run underneath the gas tank. Not something that I would recommend any one to do.