I began learning about early Chrysler hemispherical combustion-chamber engines, the so-called Hemi engines, when I attended a car auction in 2017. A farmer and collector of everything Mopar collected a field full of Mopars from the forties to the eighties, just half an hour south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Walking through this field with all the collected Mopar metal, I read the information they had written on the windshields of every single car: manufacturer, year, engine type, and VIN numbers. I knew Hemi engines from reading magazines, but that did not go beyond the amazing 426 of the late Sixties and the newly introduced 5.7 Hemi in 2003. Among the pile of cars on display, I found four Dodges and/or Chryslers with "Hemi" written on their windshields. I did not pay any attention to the numbers in front of the word Hemi; I just read the word Hemi, which doubled my heart rate. I couldn't believe four cars with Hemi powerplants would come up for auction, and when I attended, I realized I had the chance to buy one. I let that sink in, and suddenly I fell off that pink cloud and realized that those cars would go for way too much money. The large number of Mopar vehicles to be sold at the auctioneer's sale, with two selling rings to get it all sold that same day, would be impressive and interesting to find out what those Hemi cars would sell for.
I kept my ears open to both auctioneers to make sure I would be there when the Hemi-powered cars came up for auction. Because of my interest in old, rusty metal and in following various TV shows, I am always curious to see how much money people can spend on a dream or just on buying stuff to make a couple of dollars. It gives you an indication of what is valuable and what is not. Finally, one of the auctioneer's trucks made its way, followed by a large crowd, towards the Hemi-powered cars. The first car on the list had a message written on the windshield: 53 Coronet 241 Hemi Red Ram, Stuck. If you attended auctions in person over the years before it all went online, you know how it works: the auctioneer usually starts high and comes down to a price when someone raises their hand. Believe it or not, I was that guy who raised his hand at a price I thought was cheap and for sure I could afford.
I got overbid, and the price kept creeping up, but not till a price I could not afford, so I kept raising my hand. My heart rate and blood pressure rose as the price rose, and my nerves made my legs feel weak. Then bidding stopped, and I had no idea who the highest bidder was. The wondering look on my face and the way I looked around the crowd to discover who was the highest bidder was noticed by the auctioneer, Bruce, who turned his head towards me, pointed his finger, and said to the crowd, "I have this fellow here as the highest bidder. Does anyone want to go higher?" It stayed quiet, and all eyes were pointed towards me. All the sounds around me disappeared, and my head started pounding. The sweat poured from my pores, but none of that mattered. I was focused on the little wooden hammer in the auctioneer's right hand; he raised it. Far in the back of my head, I heard going ones……… going twice………and then I saw the little hammer come down and with a bang and loud SOLD out of the loudspeakers I came back to earth, he pointed that little hammer towards me, sold to this "young" man here, what's your number (auction number). Before I really realized what had just happened, I owned a 1953 Dodge Coronet with a 241 Hemi engine. I owned a first-generation Hemi power plant at an affordable price.
