I don't know exactly what was wrong with the 426s was, but as I mentioned, the main problem in the '70s -- and these were stock engines, mind you -- seemed to be that they went through spark plugs at an incredible rate. And I don't mean just having to re-gap and clean them, but having the tips burned so badly that they had to be replaced. Also, the carburetors simply wouldn't hold any type of adjustment. I don't know if that was the vibration, or what. And one other problem was getting them started in cold weather -- which can be a major problem in Iowa.

A couple guys I knew who bought cars with Hemis (one a Challenger, the other a Charger) got rid of them in less than a year, just because they were too much trouble.

Also, I should note that the cars I refer to were used daily, on the streets. Racing was a secondary occupation for them.

 

The 1970 426 Hemi was unique as well because that engine utilized hydraulic lifters, so doing valve lash adjustments every other day are a thing of the past. The engines are very maintanance intensive, as Roswell Grey's buddies attested to back in '70.

Rebodying is a lot more common than you can think. This topic causes lots of debate. Homeboy takes an abused rusted-out hulk, cuts what he can off of the cowl, core support and floorpans. His slant six deputy roller gets the cowl patched in, and whatever he can use off of the 1970 Rustoleum. Now, while the roller gets all the remaining salvageable big block parts. Is it a big block car, or a slant six clone?

Did anybody see the flattened AAR cuda on ebay a few months ago? I think the starting bid was 5K! The cowl was kind of straight, and one of the doors had a fairly salvageable corner. The description presented the car as "salvageable"!

 

Hmmmm.... This ranks right up there with the question: If you keep a car long enough and eventually replace EVERY part on it, is it the same car? After all, it occupies the same space.