For the first few years of the early hemi, it had a few things going against it. First the displacement was down in the Dodges (241 cuin) and Desotos (276). The Chrysler was a little bigger at 331 cuin though. The engines were extremely heavy too. The biggest strike against them, and a reason why the early ones were so heavy, is the bellhousing is integral to the block. With the Chrysler engine, that means you are pretty much stuck with a 2 speed automatic or the semi automatic that was a 2 speed with 2 ranges. Neither one is exactly a performance transmission. They changed that in 1954, but the desirable early hemis didn't really come around until 1957 when the 392 was introduced.
