New Hemi Engines 2003-Present. Larry Shepard

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      This rebuild book is my second Gen III Hemi engine book, and I am still learning things about this engine. The Chrysler/Mopar Generation III Hemi V-8 engine has been in production for more than 15 years, which is about twice as long as its predecessors Gen I (7 years) and Gen II (7 years). There were thousands of the first two Hemis built, and now Chrysler has built more than 3.7 million of the Gen III engines. The Gen III engines went into production after I retired, so I had a lot of catching up to do to write this book as well as New Hemi Engines 2003–Present: How to Build Max Performance. Helping with my education was Rob Cunningham of Mancini Racing.

      With any new engine family, special and high-performance parts can be an issue, so hats off to Modern Muscle (aluminum intakes, adapters, and custom porting), Indy Heads (aluminum intakes and porting), Edelbrock (aluminum heads and intakes), and Prefix (aluminum block, porting, and ECM refresh) for maintaining and expanding the key performance parts for the Gen III Hemi. Many thanks to all the parts suppliers of cranks, rods, pistons, cams, valvetrains, oil pans, headers/exhausts, and gaskets that have supplied the upgrades to work with the various block and head combinations. Additionally, I must not forget all the turners, reprogrammers, and computer companies that worked with the new parts to make them compatible with the computers along with stand-alone hardware, turning great performance potential into higher and higher horsepower outputs. I want to thank the many manufacturers that display their new Gen III hardware at events and shows such as the Mopar Nats, Chryslers at Carlisle, PRI, and SEMA, as well as their representatives, who are always willing to answer questions and discuss the latest hardware.

      The writing and photography required for an engine book is a lot of work but not anywhere near the amount of work that went into the design and development of the parts originally. Many thanks to Bob Lee and the Chrysler designers for a job well done, plus extra thanks for the early work by Tom Hoover and John Wehrly. Engine programs have many steps, phases, and milestones, and I would like to thank several behind-the-scenes Hemi heroes including Pat Baer, Bill Hancock, Tim Zuehlke, Jim Szilagyi, Al Nichols, Dale Aldo (Drag Pak vehicles), and Gary Stanton (Stanton Racing Engines). There are too many racers who have helped and are helping with the engine development efforts to name individually, but thanks to all!

      Many extra thanks to Joe Kummer, Chrysler engineer, for his behind-the-scenes help and his research with service manuals and specifications. I would like to thank Bob McSwain (Godfather Racing), for his very valuable help and assistance. Additionally, I would like to thank Bob Kobylski (Modern Cylinder Head), for his patience and helpful assistance. Many, many thanks to Dale Matthews (Prefix) and his team of engine builders—I couldn’t have done it without them! They all put in lots of time to help me put photos and words to my books.

      I owe the most thanks of all to Dave Weber (Modern Muscle) and his team at Modern Muscle Xtreme, especially