Frank Badalson sets the bar in Hemi engine

REFERENCE RESTORING
This overall view of the left side
of Jim Bodanis’ ’71 Hemi shows
power steering high pressure
hose dated and correctly plated.
The pump has been detailed
and shows correct mounting.
Radiator hoses are on as they
would be on the assembly line.
Note the positive and negative
battery cables, and a general
view of the carbs and linkage,
noting that the kickdown bellcrank is different than 1970.
We’ll show close-ups as we
move along.
1971
Hemi Detailing
Frank Badalson sets the bar in Hemi engine
restoration. Here’s how he does it.
Story • Cliff Gromer & Frank Badalson • PHOTOS • Cliff Gromer
A
40 MOPAR ACTION
the fine details based on research and his 45 years
experience in the Mopar world that has made Frank
Badalson ([email protected], (804) 275-2155),
one of the premier Mopar restorers in the hobby
today. You’ll find all these photos and more, such as
his world-famous paint drips, on our free website so
you can knock yourself out by inviting over all your
friends and blowing the pix up to full screen size on
your 80˝ OLED TV (oooh, ahhhh). Plus a suspension detailing bonus. Such a deal! OK, let’s cut the
baloney and get to the details.
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correctly detailed engine goes beyond
“pretty.” A nice fresh orange paintjob and
shiny metal on a ’71 Hemi may get you
compliments from the average Mo’fan
at car shows and if that’s all you’re looking for, you
might as well skip this article. What we are showing here is what the Hemi looked like when fully
assembled at the factory and ready to go into a car,
complete with transmission and exhaust—from the
bottom. It’s the fine details that separate a platinum
quality engine restoration from the also-rans, and it’s
MOPAR ACTION 41
, 1971 HEMI DETAILING
Overall
rear view.
ABOVE: Original Hemi fan belt p/n 2658895.
RIGHT: The original distributor tag. Note the date: 499 49th week of ’69. It’s
common to see a part made in the 49th week of ’69 in a car that was assembled in ’71. The factory wanted to use up all remaining parts in this the last
year of the Hemi. You’ll see the same thing when we get to carburetors.
The distributor
coil wire has a
red boot. The
coil’s boot is
black.
Frank Badalson Photo
Overall view of the right side shows paint daubs on the
plug wires. Also shown is the original “76” alternator
with the original “059” pulley.
While we’re at
the coil, note the
original radio
suppression
condenser—
always mounted
on the battery
side, never the
distributor side
of the coil.
Front view. Negative battery cable is painted with the engine. Top
carb mounting surface of intake, top opening of dipstick tube,
water pump and t/stat hose barbs and fuel pump mounting area
are all taped off prior to painting. Note cosmolene on control
arms which is what Frank has seen on every unmolested ’71.
This is Jim Bodanis’ Hemi block that’s been stripped. Frank
reproduces the letters A,B,C, D and E (as found) that were
applied at the Marysville plant that indicate bore size so correct
size pistons and rings can be fitted. Many restorers eliminate this
step as the letters will be painted over. Frank believes that’s the
wrong attitude in the restoration business. He doesn’t skip any
steps and has built his reputation on setting the standard for correctness. The engine is NOT primed before painting (a common
error)—it’s just cleaned and then sprayed with engine enamel.
You have to have all the components that the factory had on the
engine when they painted it, then complete it afterward.
42 MOPAR ACTION
BELOW: The distributor, cap and wires were apparently
inserted after the engine was painted. The wires were
dangling as they were put in with the distributor so
they hit areas of fresh paint while they were dangling.
Most likely, the distributor and wires were an assembly,
inserted as the engine was in final assembly stages.
The distributor is “staked” then the engine makes it to
the paint area. The distributor is pulled out, wires and
all. Pre-painted (black crackle) valve covers are sloppily
taped off; holes are taped—usually sloppily. Keep in
mind this is a quick process, they were not concerned
with pretty. Just get it done!
Original vacuum
advance canister
with an inspector’s
yellow hash mark.
Correct mounting of the distributor vacuum advance line and the S-clip. Typically
this is incorrectly attached to the outer
fuel line that goes to the rear carb. This is
the ribbed line used on the assembly line.
The correct
square oil
pressure
relief valve
plug on the
oil pump
cover. Hex
plugs are
a common
mistake.
Correct assembly line oil filter.
Original oil filler
cap is a deep dish
chrome design
not “stepped”.
The unique cap
was used on ’70’71 Hemis only
and shows a “S”
(for the vendor—
Stant) on the head
of the rivet.
MOPAR ACTION 43
, 1971 HEMI DETAILING
Dated fan clutch
with original blades.
Note that even
though build sheets
for Hemis in 1971
may show “112”
for the 3462112
fan clutch, many
’71 Hemis have the
2806070 fan clutch
installed from the
factory. The original
fan clutch for this
engine was an “070”
with a date of G7A
= July 7, 1970.
The positive battery
cable has a special
heat resistant covering
because of the way the
Hemi manifolds are
designed. The bracket
for left cylinder head
keeps the cable away
from heat. Note the
way the cable routes
from behind the starter
heat shield up towards
the top through the
bracket which is missing on a lot of restos.
The heat riser is another
common error area. The
hard to find asbestos fiber
anti-rattle insulator (the
black piece above the pin
at the bottom of the photo)
is usually missing. Note
that a lot of ’71s had a ’70style right side exhaust
manifold with the protruding tube. This is for the ’70
choke tube. They still used
the ’70 leftovers in ’71 even
though there’s no choke
tube setup because ’71s
used a manual choke.
’71 nuts that hold
the valve covers
are unique to ’71
Hemis only. They
are taller and have
a smaller washer
than ’70. The nuts
are 1/ 4-28, 7/ 16˝ hex
approx .35˝ thick
and the washer
OD is .54˝.
Water jacket
drain plugs
are something
that almost
everybody gets
wrong. They are
not painted with
the engine and
have no sealer
or tape.
All ’71s have a
3-nipple breather.
Original fuel
pump inlet fitting
is unique to a
Hemi in style
and length.
Right below the fuel pump
is right side motor mount
(always painted) showing
the unique-to-Hemi Marsden (slotted) nut attaching
the rubber insulator to the
metal motor mount bracket.
The underside of the
K-frame shows the unique
(fine thread 3/8-24) nut
with spin washer (OD 1˝),
properly plated. There are
two of these.
The unique front mounting tab for the Hemi starter
heat shield bracket. The tab is part of engine
assembly so it’s orange. The heat shield goes in
afterward so the shield and the bolt are not painted.
Original Hemi oil
dipstick tube and
handle. The insulator
for the tube covering
is below the retaining
bracket. Top of tube
is bare as it is taped
off during painting. Handle has the
proper OEM rubber
insulation.
44 MOPAR ACTION
Correct NOS PCV
valve does not
have a silver base.
This original valve
has the correct
dark base. There
were two styles
of PCV—the 3-rib
and smooth barrel
styles.
Left side motor mount.
The power steering gear
is always painted black.
Note the correct Hemi
90 deg. angle fitting and
original dated Hemi PS
hose. This hose is dated
263 8 (263rd day of 1968).
It’s very common to
see this date on ’70-’71
Hemis. The correct engineering number on the
hose is 2537701.
Correct original bolts that hold
the power steering gear to the
K-frame. In this case, they’re hex.
This is a unique design Grade 8
hex bolt with heavy duty washer.
MOPAR ACTION 45
, 1971 HEMI DETAILING
Configuration of the heat tubes at the back of the intake.
One is painted on the line. The unpainted tube that goes to
the H-pipe is put on afterward and has a correct clamp, nut
and bolt. Nipple at top is for power brakes. Generally, these
areas were taped off during paint leaving bare spots. Also
note the Hemi-only auto trans dipstick tube mounts to the
outer heat tube stud.
Note correct clip holding the Reverse wire and neutral
safety switch wire, oil pressure sending unit and oil
pressure resistance wire on the bellhousing.
RIGHT: Closer look at the dated (KO = Oct. ‘70) oil
pressure sending unit with oil pressure resistance wire
(typically missing) and the tab routing the Reverse wire.
Closer view of the kickdown linkage. Note detail and plating. Bellcrank on Hemi is not painted—it’s not part of the engine
assembly and is installed later (a lot of restorers get this wrong.) Kickdown linkage slide, unique to Hemi, incorporates a
hole for the auto throttle linkage return spring. Correct Hemi throttle cable stud is unique to a Hemi in that incorporates a
hole for the retainer clip and the washer. The other side of the linkage is where the throttle cable ferrule will go onto the
inner portion of the stud. Note the length and style of the stud. Also seen is the upper solenoid adjusting bracket.
BELOW: General shots of all the linkage hooked up and
kickdown linkage shows the correct hookup and positioning of the front and rear carb springs and kickdown
spring. Note correct carb gaskets and studs.
ABOVE LEFT: Correct torque converter cover for the
drive plate screws at the transmission.
ABOVE RIGHT: Paint on manifold. They didn’t take
time to make it pretty so you see varying degrees of
paint on everything. Sometimes there’s paint on the
bottom of the oil pan, sometimes not. All depends on
the guy and how the paint flowed.
46 MOPAR ACTION
Main cross bolt head
design most always
RSC Grade 8 bolt with
6 hash marks.
MOPAR ACTION 47
, 1971 HEMI DETAILING
Frank Badalson Photos
The ML9 on the base of the carb signifies a build
date Nov./Dec. ’69. The 4742S is the Carter assigned
number. This is only a ’71 thing—a modified ’70 carb.
You don’t see this for ’70 Hemi engines. The front
carb tag is black (for auto and 4-speed). This is an
original black tag which, from age and heat, can turn
to a brownish or copper color like the one here. The
top number always corresponds to the carb base
number. The lower number is the assembly date.
Here, the 3499 is the 349th day of ’69 which puts
the final assembly in December. Tag
dates are typically keyed to the carb
base date. The rear carb tag (also the
original) is blue denoting auto trans. A
4-speed car would have a red tag. The
large number in the lower right corner
corresponds to the last 2 digits of the
carb part number in the Chrysler parts
book. Note that these are not the only
carbs used for ’71, however, they are
found on many. We do have documented original ’71 Hemis with ’71 carb
numbers. With the advent of repro tags
we’re seeing a lot of mistakes regarding
the carb base date correlating to final
assembly. Many restorers have not thoroughly researched this and are unaware of
the proper dating structure and use random numbers. These dates are not random,
there are specific dates for tags keyed to the build/assembly of the carb.
Unique ’71 manual
choke assembly incorporates a mounting
for the manual choke
cable. This does away
with all the choke
tubes on ’70 and earlier Hemis. Note the
fuel inlet fittings with
correct red Carter
gaskets. The front carb
fitting is thicker than
the special thin (female
NPT) rear one. Red
idle mixture caps are
missing here but have
since been added.
The Intake was taped pretty sloppily prior to painting leaving bare
spots between and underneath the two carburetors.
48 MOPAR ACTION
Correct cad-plated Grade
5 carb bolt is unique to the
Hemi. The unique head
marking is referred to as the
“dog bone” design and
has 3 hash marks.
All ready for install­
ation. Badalson uses
a jig very similar to
the factory’s for a
no-hassle install. ’71
ended up being a
low production year
for the Hemi. By all
records available,
approx. 356 Hemis
were produced. It is
not uncommon to
find late ’69 and early
’70 dated parts used
throughout 1971
Hemi production.
MOPAR ACTION 49