Why was the Chevy a wedge and not a hemi? I saw a show on TV about GM
and the SB Chev. It was stated that GM visualized the new Chev V8 of
'55 as a "junior Cadillac" engine. This was only a few years after the
intro of the wedge OHV Cad, which GM figured at the time was a "jewel in
their crown". Period articles attest that GM did a load of R & D on the
Cad, and did have a pretty good engine there. The point of the wedge
was, of course, to manage turbulence and optimize combustion for
smoothness, fuel economy, power, and knock-resistance. The wedge head
is smaller, lighter, and cheaper to make than the big old massive hemi
head with two rocker shafts, long stands for them, etc. The hemi head
is better for power and obviously there is a reason why today's NHRA top
fuel engine is a direct descendent of the '51 Chrysler hemi. 'Cause it
has the hemi and the pushrod design is quicker to remove, strip and
reassemble than any form of overhead cams.
I doubt if Zora had any real influence on GM policy when he went to work
in '53. They were thinking 'Cad-wedge' and 'build-it-cheap' when they
did the '55 Chev V8. Had he told them to put a hemi on it, nobody would
have heard a thing. My 2 cents. ArdunBill
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