When talking about Hemi engines, we usually think about the mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8 that Chrysler produced from 1964 to 1970 in race- and road-spec forms. But Mopar’s history with hemispherical combustion chambers goes beyond “The Elephant.”Chrysler developed its first experimental Hemi engine during World War II for the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft. It was an inverted V16 called XIV-2220 but by the time it was ready for use in 1945, the war was nearly over and it did not go into production.
But the company applied what it had learned from its military experience to its first overhead-valve V8 mill for automobile use. The engine debuted in 1950 for the 1951 model year under the name FirePower. It was Chrysler’s first-generation Hemi and it found its way into a wide variety of vehicles, including those built by the Dodge, DeSoto, and Imperial divisions.
Displacing 331 cubic inches (5.4 liters), the FirePower debuted in three different Chryslers in 1951. The New Yorker was one of them. And this 1954 example still rocks its original, numbers-matching first-gen Hemi V8, even though it’s been left to rot in a field for around 40 years.
There’s no info as to why this beautiful four-door was parked back in the early 1980s, but it survived four decades of exposure to the elements rather well. Sure, the interior has been taken over by rodents and will need a full restoration to become livable again, but the car’s exterior appears to be decent. There is a bit of rust and the paint has faded away, but the body panels are impressively straight and all the chrome trim is still there.
And amazingly enough, the folks over at YouTube’s “Theetravisb” managed to get the 331 V8 to fire up after all those years. Yeah, it won’t take this New Yorker anywhere anytime soon, but it turns a sitting wreck into a salvageable project.
What we don’t know about this New York is how much oomph it gets to the rear wheels. When it was introduced in 1951 (alongside the 323-cubic-inch / 5.3-liter) straight-eight), the FirePower was rated at 180 horsepower. However, Chrysler increased output to 195 horsepower for the 1954 model year, when this car was produced. What’s more, the company offered a DeLuxe option with 235 horses.
1954 was also the final year for the third-generation New Yorker. And a transitional one in terms of design, which moved away from the somewhat date styling of the early 1950s New Yorker and closer to the Virgil Exner-penned (and far more modern) fourth-generation model.