In the corner of my garage, there is always the brightest light, and underneath it is my 1969 Dodge Coronet's 5.7L HEMI engine—more precisely, it is the 'recreation' that I spent two years piecing together from scrap parts. Every time I open the garage door, what first catches my eye is not the vintage paint of the car but the old label stuck on the hood, which is written in pen: 'Major overhaul in 1971, restarted in 2022.' Behind these words lies the five years I have spent entangled with the HEMI, as well as a story of passion and perseverance.
The first time I encountered it was at the abandoned farm machinery repair shop in my hometown. At that time, I just wanted to find some old parts to decorate my study, but in the corner on a metal shelf, I saw this HEMI engine covered in a thick layer of dust. I reached out to wipe off the dirt from the cylinder block, and the embossed logo of "HEMI" slowly revealed itself. At that moment, I suddenly remembered what my grandfather had said when I was young: "The best car in town had these two words engraved on the engine. When you stepped on the gas, half the street could hear it." This memory inexplicably made me spend 800 dollars to drag this engine back home, not even knowing if it could run.
When I first started the restoration, I was completely a novice. Holding the second-hand HEMI repair manual I bought online, I compared each engine part one by one. Just distinguishing between the intake and exhaust valves took me an entire weekend. Once, while disassembling the crankshaft, I got a bolt stuck in the cylinder block because the tool was wrong, and I squatted in the garage struggling until midnight. My fingers were scratched several times, and I almost considered giving up. But when I found a retired Chrysler engineer online, he told me through the screen, "The cylinder block of the HEMI is made of cast iron, it's tough, and you can twist it open slowly by finding the right angle," and then he sent me a set of factory special tools, I regained my fighting spirit.
The most agonizing part was the process of finding parts. Some parts of this engine have long been discontinued. I posted for help on various vintage car forums, ran around car dismantling factories in five surrounding states, and even asked friends to buy from overseas. Once, to find a compatible carburetor, I waited a full four months, checking logistics information every day, and only sighed in relief when I saw the international postmark on the package. When the last part—the factory spark plug—was installed, I looked at the complete engine and suddenly felt that all the previous hardships were worth it.
On the day of the first ignition, I specially invited my grandfather. When the key turned, the engine first made two "click" sounds, and then a deep and powerful roar exploded in the garage. My grandfather's eyes lit up, and he reached out to touch the vibrating hood, smiling and saying, "This is the sound! Just like the ones I saw when I was young." That day, the two of us sat in the garage, listening to the engine's idle sound, chatting about past car stories for an afternoon. I learned that my grandfather had once dreamed of owning a car equipped with a HEMI, but the conditions back then did not allow it.
Now, this HEMI engine is securely installed on the Dodge Coronet, and I drive it to the countryside every month. Some people say that such an old engine is fuel-consuming and difficult to maintain, and it's not worth the effort, but only I know that every time I step on the gas, the vibrations from the engine are not just mechanical operations, but also my grandfather's unfulfilled dreams, my love for vintage car culture, and a resonance of time spanning more than half a century.
I heard that HEMI has been discontinued, but I'm not sad. Because in my garage, there is still a roaring HEMI waiting for me, it will accompany me and continue to run on the road, telling the story of HEMI to more people. For me, this engine is no longer just cold metal, but an old buddy carrying memories and love. As long as it can still run, this time spent with HEMI will never end.