NHOA—What it Means

From the Archives...
The NHOA and What It Means

By Roland H. Osborne III
NHOA Founder/Director
May 15, 1976

Each month our members are subjected to a 9000 rpm “rag” about what we are doing and what we propose to do.  Some like it and some don’t, so, for the benefit of all, let’s back it off 10 and evaluate some of the revs that keep us at nine grand.

As Mike so aptly put it in the March 30, 1976 newsletter, “the historians of the future will look back upon the 1951 Chrysler Firepower Hemi as the beginning of an era.” These historians will see; flame front propagation, thermal efficiency, optimum power transfer, volumetric efficiency and “Preservation and Perfection thru Organization & Cooperation.”  What is this NHOA thing?  They’ll read this article and then both you and they will know.

PRESERVATION: In Roger Huntington’s article, To Cobble or To Coddle, he states that the ’60’s were the Golden Days for the Muscle Car.  These cars had tons of brute horsepower and, by and large, were aerodynamic and aesthetically appealing.  Those days are gone.  Never again will we see cars with 350 road horsepower appear from the traditional factory assembly line.  It seems only natural that they should be preserved in some fashion as the remnants of a bygone era.

PERFECTION: The late model Hemi was, without a doubt, the King of the muscle cars.  Designed and engineered to be the terror of both street and track, they were just that.  There are a lot of HemiCars which are presently modified from original.  

These cars will never be able to return to original status but instead are engineering marvels in their own right; with big tires, modified wheel wells and trick chassis and driveline components.  Here too, it only seems natural that these units be perfected in every possible way: increased efficiency, higher horsepower, more optimum weight transfer and general “do it right or don’t do it at all” techniques.

ORGANIZATION: Well, where does all this leave us?  It leaves cars rotting in someone’s backyard, parts being thrown away because they’re in the way, and even some HemiCar owners doing it all wrong.
    
Let’s look at the Firepowers for a minute too!  These cars are just barely hanging on and it’s only thru a few die hard enthusiasts that they’re there at all.  There was no one to organize them; to gather them into a Brotherhood that could share the thrill of owning and operating a Hemi.  They’re dead!  Those who own these cars know that it is a virtual nightmare to rebuild one; no parts, where can you find a tech manual, who can I ask?  Well, “the hell with it!!!?..., and down the tube it goes.
   
The ’26 will not be like that!  Organized, we have a power that can be felt all the way to Chrysler itself.  Collectively, we can make our needs known so that it will never go down the tube!  We can’t resurrect the old Firepowers, but through organization we can at least preserve the ones that are still functional.  And, as a Brotherhood, we can share some of the thrills and some of the heartache that goes along with both of these engineering giants.

COOPERATION: What is this Brotherhood thing? Is it real or, more appropriately, can it be real?  There are a lot of car clubs and associations; Chevy, Ford, Mopar, etc. And what really ties them together?  It’s just a kind of unity because they are people first and enthusiasts second.
   
The Hemi is different.  There is an aura surrounding it…. A mystique that creeps into your personality when you think about it.  The Hemi is above and beyond just an engine.  It is a living, fire breathing Chautauqua that perpetrates legends staggering the imagination.  And we as people share in that legend, for we are Hemi Owners!
   
Those stock pistons, original factory manifolds, and miscellaneous parts that we’ve been throwing away are still good and somebody needs them.  Those who know what they’re doing can surely help those who don’t.  To share is to live.  As Hemi Owners there is a whole bunch to share!