Everything You Wanted to Know About Bill Mitchell Products' All-Aluminum HEMI Engine Block

[@billmitchell2800]

Hey guys, We know a lot of you Mopar guys (if not all) are sticklers for details so we wanted to take a minute and correct a few details. The aluminum blocks were designed and produced side by side with the cast iron block by Bill Mitchell Sr (World Products) back in the early 2000's and produced the iron blocks for Mopar while the aluminum blocks produced as World Products. Bill Mitchell Products simply took over the aluminum product line in 2010 when World Products was sold to PBM. Bill Mitchell Products aluminum engine blocks are cast in England, not Ireland and machined here in the states.

[@moparconnection]

Fantastic comment - and thank you for the corrections! We'll pin this to the top of the comment section. -K

[@duanedahl8856]

Thanks for the info I've wondered ever since I got my block why I didn't have "MADE IN USA" SOMEWHERE on the casting.. I've had many a sleepless night wondered if it came from Asia! Thanks for finally revealing the mystery!...BTW, I too was made in England!!!

[@demon1891]

I would like to see you do a indepth build up on this block with all the specs great video

[@moparconnection]

I wish we could! This isn’t ours to build, but a fan of the magazine who let us hang on to it for a short while.

[@demon1891]

@@moparconnection I understand thanks for the response

[@ThirteenTwentyRepair]

I’m building one for my 71 Demon. It’s at the shop getting bored and balanced rite now. Stock 3.75” stroke and 4.5” bore for a total of 477”

[@ThirteenTwentyRepair]

I bought one of these in 4.490” bore. I’m extremely happy with the finish out of the box. BMP was great to deal with !! I’m sure I’ll be a repeat customer (a hell of a lot faster if I could ever talk him into an aluminum 400 based block ). We have spoke about it before and he has no plans at this time for a “B” block.

[@moparconnection]

No, no short deck blocks in the near future

[@Alexander-nb1rz]

​@@moparconnection😢

[@dinadaughtry8993]

Pretty please?

[@SixBarrel]

Look gorgeous , this Block Is perfect for that A body hemi and a lot of B bodys . But the market need a 340 Block , today the 410 and beyond strokers use junkyard blocks . Thanks for all this info🍺

[@markmcculloch7095]

Yes need a aluminum 340 block!

[@darrylsmith7908]

@@markmcculloch7095Ritter makes an aluminum small block. It’s $7500 though Hughes

[@moparconnection]

Yikes! That’s really pricey.

[@user-yc9qr7ww3r]

Building a 600 cid setup with one of these. It will be max effort with nitrous. I will let you know what kind of power it can handle on the squeeze. (Reher Morrison doing the block prep)

[@moparconnection]

That’s awesome!

[@Gary-zn8rh]

Just some takeaway on the Bill Mitchell Product Hemi blocks. It's a nice block but does have some drawbacks. Claims have been made in the tune of 2500 horsepower that BMP block can handle but I would argue about repeatability and sustainability. I owned a BMP Hemi for a few months last year until I decided to upgrade to the Keith Black blocks offered by Tim Banning of For Hemis Only now in Clearwater, FL. The reason for the upgrade came down to price and all the EXTRA you got for that price. With the BMP blocks being at $6,200 at the time of my purchase (now $6,600) and a Keith Black being just $1,300 more...well for me it was a no-brainer. The additional $1,300 gave me 6-bolt mains with larger hardware, main caps that are the best in the business, larger head studs that also go down farther into the deck, awesome oiling, and heavy-duty reinforced lifter valley to include support on the front lifter bores near the distributor drive. I was a little concerned with the BMP Hemi block on how weak-looking the lifter valley cross rips were as they looked slightly larger than a cast iron block. For me, the $1,300 more was like cheap insurance to invest in the KB. I sold my BMP Hemi block nearly a year ago to a gentleman up in Canada then went over to KB. Plus KB is 100% Made in the USA and cast in Michigan. BMP blocks would be perfect, but the price point I'm afraid will drive potential customers elsewhere. Plus, he should update his Mopar block line to be on par with his Ford and Chevy blocks. When you look at those blocks put out by BMP, they are impressive. As for Hemi heads, Stave V in my opinion. Unfortunately, there is a little disruption in the production of Stage V stuff along with the passing of its owner a few months back. Stage V is what I invested in to add to the top of my KB. A couple of things to note if anyone else wants to go KB. KB will require external oil pickup (no internal previsions) and you will either need to get the special Stage V heads specifically ordered by Tim Banning (around $3,500) which use a special type of intake gasket and which has the steam hole machined in a different location to match the changes that were made to the KB blocks. BMP blocks will accept all standard stock Stage V heads, Edelbrock heads, Mopar aluminum heads, and probably most Indy. Plus, unless you have a lot of parts being donated or you're going with the cheapest stuff on the planet, $20k for a Gen 2 Hemi is not too realistic...that is if you want a power maker that will last more than a few passes down the track and not be sitting on an engine stand in the corner of the garage blown up.

[@moparconnection]

Interesting and very salient points. Yes the KB has 6-bolt mains but the BMP does accept all of those heads and has an external oil provision. It’s a bit of a trade.

[@herbferguson]

Need one of those for my Stage V heads and top end.

[@moparconnection]

Heck yeah you do!

[@edsmachine93]

Great topic. The BMP is definitely a good piece. Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@moparconnection]

You bet!

[@Fmandan77]

Bought one of these BMP 4.5" bore Hemi blocks for my 70 Cuda project. I picked up a set of Edelbrock hemi heads and had a custom solid roller cam spec'd by Dwayne Porter of Porter Racing Heads. I'm now needing to buy my bottom end components. Planning on running a 4.25" stroke crank for 540" inches and using a 7.100" rod. I've built a lot of engines, but this will be my first Hemi. Something that could have been mentioned in this video is the need for restricting the oil passages in the block, but maybe you can address that in another video.

[@moparconnection]

We know of no such need for these blocks.

[@Fmandan77]

@@moparconnection I could be wrong, but if you plan to build one, you may want to ask Bill about it. Maybe he's changed something since 2019. Bill has these restrictors on his website: BMP 701802-2. They narrow passages down to .060" and prevent too much oil from heading up top to too quickly, keeping the majority of the oil down low for the rods and mains.

[@moparconnection]

@@Fmandan77 the part # you supplied are specifically for BBC not HEMI blocks. I've sent an email in to Bill to confirm.

[@Fmandan77]

@@moparconnection My mistake on the PN, but I'd be interested in what Bill says about the oil restriction on these Hemi blocks. -I'm nearly positive they're required.

[@moparconnection]

He said no, this is specifically for the BBC.

[@marcumexe]

The way all the aluminum around the sleeves has been opened has left it considerably less rigid than the bores being connected, some things have to be negotiated, is having a larger piston size worth the reduction in rigidity I am not sure but would opt for rigid foundations..

[@moparconnection]

Literally none of that is true.

[@samuelmannino2722]

You didn,t mention if it had priority oiling to the rocker gear through separate feeds from both oil galleries , if it still was feed off the cam bearing ? Those two really small pipe thread holes in the valley area , towards the rear on both sides , were they for spray bars for rocker oiling , or just two smaller freeze plugs for some reason ? Samuel M.

[@moparconnection]

Great comment! Since I cannot confirm, I put an email into Bill at BMP and we'll see what he says. -K

[@charlesmarshall2697]

How about a Gen 3 aftermarket Hemi that can go out to 500+ inches?

[@moparconnection]

Dart just introduced a new iron block that we might be looking into. It's pretty impressive.

[@Patriot-fl3ch]

I'm thinking Indy Cylinder Head has a durable aluminum block hemi ( Indy Maxx) that weighs in at 148 lbs. and can be used on the street also. Not sure what the prices would be now a days but you could get one for $4500.

[@moparconnection]

Indy’s comparable aluminum “water block” is listed for $7,300.

[@meissiah]

I'm dreaming of an aluminum block A853 from BMP.

[@moparconnection]

You and me both. This one isn’t ours.

[@thomasward4505]

You had a video about building another big block did you ever finish it it. Or is that it next to you?

[@moparconnection]

Yes! That’s the 505 stroker in the video. We’re waiting on a couple parts and for the dyno schedule to open up

[@markmcculloch7095]

Pro's and con's over an indy aluminum block?

[@moparconnection]

Indy makes a tremendous block and we’ve seen big power from it; I don’t think it can accommodate the monster sized stroke (you’ll have to confirm) as the BMP and I believe it doesn’t have have the multiple transmission options.

[@duanedahl8856]

The up side to the Indy and Keith Black blocks is that they use 1/2 inch head bolt fasteners, the BM uses smaller OE size except the inner valley fasteners are unique to this block and use a special ARP head stud kit # Number: 145-4005

[@roknrone]

What's the CI limit in the wedge engine?

[@moparconnection]

You’ll have to confirm with BMP but we believe 605cui.

[@Tig572]

Unless there is a raised cam option, 572 / 580 might be the limit as usually there is cam / rod interference with a 4.75 stroke

[@moparconnection]

Correct and that is doable upon request. The cam bosses are noticeably bigger to allow the cam to be raised.

[@roknrone]

Sweet, thanks for the info 👍

[@68FISH]

Another fine Ohio business! 😊

[@moparconnection]

Bill Mitchell Products? They're in FLORIDA.

[@normangiven6436]

An LA engine block with the correct lifter geometry and not that lifter angle from the old 318 poly head engine would go a long way.

[@moparconnection]

That would be nice!

[@jims2286]

Aluminum blocks minis 30 hp over cast iron.

[@moparconnection]

That’s not a hard and fast rule but due to heat mitigation you’ll see gains over iron for sure.

[@powerwagon3731]

I’m for the 426 Hemi design if I had 20 k (which isn’t really that bad) to spend and I would love to build not buy.

[@moparconnection]

Oh you don’t need that much. Well OK, you’ll get pretty close. 🤣

[@vincentenk4449]

No small block Mopars though....🤔

[@moparconnection]

Nope

[@vincentenk4449]

@@moparconnection only leaves Kent Ritter.

[@moparconnection]

Yup and those are listed at around $7500

[@vincentenk4449]

@@moparconnection time to build a Hemi! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@moparconnection]

Exactly! Why waste your time with some puny small block?! 🤣

[@tomserna6722]

Well why don't you build one? 😉

[@moparconnection]

I’ve already got my Muscle Motors iron block. I’ll run that heavy pig for as long as I can.

[@VegasRT500]

Doesnt really matter. At almost 7k each they are not very affordable for the average mopar enthusiast. Maybe China or Taiwan will step up. Maybe 440 Source can also be HEMI source.

[@moparconnection]

Or you could support an American company. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@VegasRT500]

@@moparconnection I would love to but far too often during the last 8 years the price gouging has just gotten ridiculous.