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The Donovan hemi is an American Top Fuel drag racing engine, designed and built by Ed Donovan and first appearing in 1971. In the 1970s, it was the most popular engine in Top Fuel dragsters.
Donovan developed the 417 cu in (6,830 cc) hemi-head V8 to overcome the tendency of 392 cu in (6,420 cc) Chryslers, then used by Top Fuel racers (many of them friends and customers of his), to crack their iron blocks. [1]
He copied the 392 cu in (6,420 cc), which he admired, but tried to eliminate its deficiencies. [2] Donovan milled all the internal oil and water passages, and (unlike the stock 392) sleeved the block with chrome-moly cylinder liners, which were stronger as well as easy to replace. [2] Donovan also enlarged the supports for the main bearings, which Chrysler would do with the B-block. [2] Cast from aluminium rather than iron, the engine weighed under 200 lb (91 kg) bare, [2] compared to 740 lb (340 kg) for the Chrysler. [3] Because it closely followed the Chrysler's specification, many hot rodding parts would fit it; only the bore was different, being 1⁄8 in (3.2 mm) larger, [2] at 4.125 in (104.8 mm) (same as the 400 cu in (6,600 cc) Chevrolet.
Donovan completed work on the engine in 1970, and first sold it in 1971; [2] the first driver to use a Donovan hemi was "Kansas John" Wiebe, at the 1971 NHRA Super Nationals, where Wiebe very nearly won Top Fuel. [1] By 1972, it was commonplace in Top Fuel dragsters, [2] and Altereds would also use it. [4] In 1977, Donovan persuaded "Big Daddy" Don Garlits to switch from the 426 hemi he had been using for the last thirteen years to the 417 cu in (6,830 cc), offering (in Garlits' words), “an engine deal I couldn’t refuse”. [5]
Donald Glenn Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver.
Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 335 miles per hour (539.1 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (304.8 m) runs in 3.62 seconds.
The Ford FE engine is a Ford V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. The FE was introduced to replace the short-lived Ford Y-block engine, which American cars and trucks were outgrowing. It was designed with room to be significantly expanded, and manufactured both as a top-oiler and side-oiler, and in displacements between 332 cu in (5.4 L) and 428 cu in (7.0 L).
The Chrysler B and RB engines are a series of big-block V8 gasoline engines introduced in 1958 to replace the Chrysler FirePower engines. The B and RB engines are often referred to as "wedge" engines because they use wedge-shaped combustion chambers; this differentiates them from Chrysler's 426 Hemi big block engines that are typically referred to as "Hemi" or "426 Hemi" due to their hemispherical shaped combustion chambers. The corporation had been seeking a smaller and lighter replacement for its FirePower engines, in part because new styling dictates meant moving the engine forward in the chassis which negatively affected weight distribution.
Keith Black was an American producer of high performance drag racing engines, often used in Top Fuel and Tractor pulling applications.
The Chrysler Hemi engines, known by the trademark Hemi or maybe more commonly HEMI, are a series of American V8 gasoline engines built by Chrysler with overhead valve hemispherical combustion chambers. Three different types of Hemi engines have been built by Chrysler for automobiles: the first from 1951 to 1958, the second from 1964 to 1971, and the third beginning in 2003. Although Chrysler is most identified with the use of "Hemi" as a marketing term, many other auto manufacturers have incorporated similar designs. The engine block and cylinder heads were cast and manufactured at Indianapolis Foundry.
Don Prudhomme, nicknamed "The Snake", is an American drag racer.
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Altered is a former National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing class and a current drag racing chassis configuration that forms the basis of many classes of NHRA Competition Eliminator.
Lew Russell Robinson, nicknamed "Sneaky Pete", was an American drag racer.
Pure Hell was an American Fuel Altered (AA/FA) drag racing car.
Ed Donovan (1928–1989), commonly called "The Mole", was an American racing engine and parts builder.