The King Kong HEMI is opened up at track side for all to see.

There is always rumors about the cars racing at the top. Its been this way since day one of racing. For some racers and even spectators, its easier to assume that someone is cheating, because "there is no way that anyone could build a car faster than mine" or " there is no way that car can be legal, no way!"

Dave Dudek's 1969 HEMI powered Roadrunner has been running out front for a long time, he has run a best of 10.35 @ 134 MPH, so there are plenty of rumors to go around. Dudek has maintained that he has a OEM production 426 block that is bored .060" over and a 4.25" stroke crank. In other words only 496 CID.

Dave has heard all the rumors:

He's running a MEGA block

That motor is over 600 CID

His heads are aluminum


It got so bad in the rumor department that Dave had enough, he was going to put a stop to these rumors once and for all. Dave posted on the FAST forum: "I will pull my intake manifold and a cylinder head for everyone to see and inspect" and he was going to voluntarily tear down his engine during the annual F.A.S.T. Summer Nationals held at US131 in Martin, Michigan. On the first day of the Summer Nationals event (Qualifying day), Dave made a few quarter mile blasts down the 1320 in the morning. What he did next stunned and amazed quite a few racers and spectators alike.

Tearing down a HEMI when its still in the car is no easy feat, but Dudek looks like he could do it in his sleep.



Diligently working with help from his dad (Dave Dudek SR) Dave had the Intake and Head off the car is 30 minutes flat!



Right out in the open where anyone could see Dave bared the internals of this record setting HEMI.



F.A.S.T. Officials and any racer that asked to, measured the bore and stroke of the HEMI. Above, Terry Pennington is inspecting the HEMI's block.



Greg Gessler, measured the cylinder bore diameter with both snap gauges and dial calipers showed the bore to be exactly what Dudek said. 4.310" , or .060" over a stock 426 HEMI bore. The crankshaft stroke was check by measuring the travel of the piston from BDC to TDC. It measured out at 4.25", again just what Dudek had stated.



The block was also definitely cast iron. But was it a MEGA block? Was Dudek using the stronger bores of the MEGA block to increase piston ring seal? Don't worry, we checked that too.



The Chrysler MEGA block has been produced by Chrysler Mopar Performance for the last 20 years. It is a water jacketed block but the cylinder bores are Siamese (cylinder bores are connected to each other with cast iron, there is no water jacket passage running between the cylinder bores on the MEGA block) where the vintage production 426 block are fully water jacketed, even between the cylinder bores.



Gessler inserts wire thru the blocks water jacket.



To verify that Dudek's block was in fact a OEM Chrysler replacement block, bright lights were shined into the water jacket openings on the block deck surface to verify the water jacket and for good measure, a metal wire was snaked down the water jacket from the lower or exhaust port side of the block, and between the cylinder bores and back up thru the block deck on the upper of intake side of the block.





Nothing out of the ordinary was found, just nicely machined parts and an interior of an engine clean enough to eat off of.



The heads also got a quick going over. They were the correct casting numbers for a 1969 HEMI (#559's), and they were definitely cast iron. We looked and scratched with an awl, under the valve cover area, on the intake and exhaust port gasket surfaces and even on several head bolt bosses. These heads are definitely cast iron, just like they should be.

NO MEGA block was found.

NO Big Cylinder bore sizes or CID

NO Aluminum heads found

Block and Heads found to be F.A.S.T. Legal.



After everyone had a chance to see for themselves and all the pictures were taken, Dave Dudek and his dad proceeded to reassemble the HEMI right in front of everyone in the middle of the US 131 pits. Dave even reused the same head gasket, "The head gasket looks fine, might as well put it back in there"

After bolting everything back together, adjusting the valves, hooking up the belts and hoses and adding water, Dave started the HEMI up on the first try. After checking for leaks and setting the ignition timing, Dave took the Roadrunner into the staging lanes to make a pass. Remember this is still the first day of the F.A.S.T. Summer Nationals, but by now it is late afternoon. Dave runs an 10.66 at over 132 MPH. Which was his best pass of the day. Quite a feat.

So now that everyone knows that Dave's engine is legal, the rumors should stop.
Will they?
Only time will tell.