motor home 440's

[Chryco Psycho]

I am sure I saw one of these in a class A , I remember working on one years ago , but it may have been the 413 not the 440

[stinger]

well alot of great info guy's,thanks.I talked to the guy selling and was dissapointed to find out he's just another D.B. thinking he has a gold mine on his hands.told me it's from a 70's something motor home and he wants 2K for it,probably to buy those expensive drugs he's useing or something.I just laughed and said "NO THANKS".

[lemming303]

Hey man, I live around Ft Worth and I see ads on Craig's list all the time for 440's. I saw one the other day, it was the full engine minus the intake and carb for 1200. I can't remember the specs, but it was a good motor, had been rebuilt once, .30 over. 1200 is not too bad.

[71chally416]

You can sure do better than 2K for a 440. You can probably buy an old '70 Chrysler and end up with a spare rear and tranny for $500 or less.

[stinger]

You can sure do better than 2K for a 440. You can probably buy an old '70 Chrysler and end up with a spare rear and tranny for $500 or less.

I've seen a whole motorhome for 2500.at least he saved me the trouble of looking at it,LOL.I would like to find a nice shortblock to build off of.

[lemming303]

Craigslist

[cudax34me]

reality or myth.do motorhome blocks have extra thick cylinder walls.i was told by someone years ago they could take .190 overbore.

[NoMope Greg]

reality or myth.do motorhome blocks have extra thick cylinder walls.i was told by someone years ago they could take .190 overbore.

Myth.  You usually hear how the late-model 440s have thin cylinder walls and won't support an overbore greater than .030 or .040.  In fact, the later blocks are the same in the cylinder walls and were cast with more iron in the bearing saddle area, increasing strength.  I can tell the difference from the '68 block mine came with and the '74 block that replaced it.  For more about the 440 block, see this:

http://www.440source.com/blockinfo.htm

[The Cuda Guy]

Also I think the 77 and up blocks have the extra cooling passages.  I know it states what year they added the cooling passages to it in that 440 source article.  Good info on the blocks there.  I see 440's in various stages from blocks to complete engines on Moparts and Racingjunk all the time for 500-800 dollars some with 727's attached.  Good luck bro.

Don                 

[stinger]

thanks for all the info and I have all winter to find something.I'll most likely keep an eye out on Craigslist in my area.

[Chryco Psycho]

I have measured some later blocks at over .300 thick , if that was consistant in all bore all the way around you could bore it .350 before you reach minimum thickness 

[73Chally]

One thing to keep in mind is that the 73 and up 440 RV blocks were designed to run hotter than the earlier ones, as a means of burning off more gas to meet emissions needs.  That could be why the RV blocks had so much cooling needs designed into them.  An RV block should be good for up to 30 overbore, but not much more, or else it would be next to impossible to keep cool.  Other than that, an RV 440 short block should be fine.

[PistolGrip440-6]

well alot of great info guy's,thanks.I talked to the guy selling and was dissapointed to find out he's just another D.B. thinking he has a gold mine on his hands.told me it's from a 70's something motor home and he wants 2K for it,probably to buy those expensive drugs he's useing or something.I just laughed and said "NO THANKS".

I wouldnt do it. 600-700 max. You can get a good early mill with high compression for 800-1000 without much trouble and complete. Plus youd probably have to change the water pump and manifolds on the MH mill.

[Robb]

2000$ is a slap-in-the-face insult.

Ive been seeing alot on CL as well.    500$   sometimes with transimission.


I put in a LOW mileage 77 (or 78?) motor home 440 with 452 heads in my challenger.   I replaced the sheetmetal with the stuff I had on my 383 and picked up a few other 440 parts and put it together so it looks semi-accurate for 1970.     I simply went through the whole motor, replaced the cam bearing, put in new oil pump, camshaft+lifters, timing chain cleaned and painter her up , and put it in.   Ran great as it was, but then I got a hold of some 915 cylider heads and swapped on a 6 pack and I have been very happy for the money I spent (or didnt spend).

the 915 heads put me closer to a 9-1 static compression ratio.    made a difference.