Help Identifying a 392 HEMI for sale

Dave Haertel said
Looking at a 392 HEMI ad for sale on local FB. Sent a couple of questions over about it but haven't heard back from the seller yet.

2 numbers show on the block:
1873729 (Think this is a block number, hard to tell from the photo)
3NE571606

1 number on the heads:
1731528-1

It's all in pieces, includes the block, crank, heads and 2 4 bbl carter carbs with the linkages. No pistons, rings, or caps. Selling for 2000. I think this is a crazy price if it's a legit 392. When looking at a couple of sites to ID them, I saw 3NE55 and 3NE56, and NE57, not 3NE57 so I'm not sure.

Checked the rest of the casting numbers for you, it seems to be a 1957 392 out of a Chrysler 300. So, dual quad, solid cam, adjustable rocker set up. Best of the best. Heck even the dimpled "Chrysler Firepower" valve covers sell for twice as much as a normal set.

But you're missing almost all the good parts. The solid cam and adjustable rocker set up by themselves are worth as much as the rest of the engine. The heads you have are 1957 392 heads, which are good but not as valued as the '55 354 heads, they have a "555" casting number and are the best for flow.

Honestly, a 392 block, heads, and crankshaft with all that other stuff missing and the rust that's present is not a steal at $2k. It's not a bad price, but it's not a great one either. To return it to original form with just its original rocker gear and cam would cost several thousand dollars. The missing main caps are less of a worry IMHO, guys replace those all the time anyway for the cacklefest and nitro hemi builds, so an original main cap set isn't all that hard to come by. And I know guys in the early hemi crowd that have literally just swapped main caps and run them. Not what I would do, but it's not unusual for an early hemi with swapped main caps to work just fine with just a line hone, not even a full line bore.

oldkimmer said
Would a 392 out of an old dodge truck be of any value or are the different? Kim

Depends on the application. Some of them got adjustable rockers, which are worth a ton. Some didn't. The 4 bolt exhaust manifolds are sought after too, and worth a bunch. The only thing is that some of them got different heads, which are not sought after. The water supply and crossover are different. Not a big deal on most builds.