440 Build

[RDF]

This thread will be similar to the "Let's talk heads..." thread but with a bigger motor.  I will be picking up a 73 440 this weekend and getting it back to my place.  I plan to build something the problem is I don't know what that something is, so I figured I'd start a thread and listen to advice and go from there.  This will be my first motor rebuild since 1990....I know it's been a long time, but I'm sure I can do it.  I just rebuild my trani http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=27855.0 with the help of TacTransMan back in December and it shifts beautifully....and I never tore apart a trani before.

The guy who has the motor says I can have everything that goes with it.  He sold it to someone on ebay thinking it had a steel crank in it, but when the guy got the motor and found out it was cast iron, he wanted his money back, so the guy agreed to that.  He seems very nice and told me if I take it to get dipped and checked and find out it can't be worked on, he said he would refund my money....cool deal if he holds true, but hoping I don't go down that route.  At any rate, the block is disassembled and he has the intake, heads, pistons, manifolds, etc. but it's all apart; less for me to do at first, but more worries that screws and such will be missing.

Here's what I'm thinking I want (and please feel free to tell me I'm crazy  or too conservative):
It's a 73 'Cuda with a 360 in it now.  I know I will need a 727, bigger radiator and poss. fuel lines to accomodate the bigger engine, I can deal with that.  I don't take it to the track and prob. never will.  It's a 3-day a week driver at best but I like to show it off when I can.    Ideally, I'd like something with 450+ hp, something with a lot of kick but nothing that's going to tear my rear-end out every day either.  I'm not looking for top-end speed either, mainly b/c I wouldn't dare go over 100mph in the car now with the suspension, etc.  I just want something I can roast the tires to 2 or 3 telephone pole lengths and beat those ricers off the line and then some!

I know the biggest ? from you guys will be "how much money do you want to spend?" and it's a good ?....I just don't know the answer.  I'm not looking for this thing to be built by summer or even winter.  I have to take my time and save for items that I'll need (heads prob. being the most expensive) b/c I've got 2 kids under 4 and 1 more on the way in October.  I can get away with telling my wife I need 1-200 bucks  here and there vs. I need 1700.00 at one shot  , know what I mean?

Help me out people! It's been far too long since I've built a motor and I'm willing to learn whatever it takes to get it done.

[matt63]

On a tight budget I would head for a good stock rebuild ensuring it at least meets the HP 440 specs such as compression (or an actual 9.5:1 max) and cam selection.  This was a 375 hp rated motor.  Add headers, a "do it yourself" bowl port job, aluminum 2 plane intake, slightly hotter cam, electronic ignition and a good carb you should be there.

[moper]

I wouldnt sweat missing bolts. Everybody here I'm sure has a few extras...lol. I have bins full. You want 450hp...but more importanly, 500lb feet or torque. That's what burns for 3 poles (or accross 19 parking spaces, whichever your couting)....lol. A solid basic long block build is what you need. That can be done for about $3000 or so using decent parts. The oil pan and tins can be re-used (just dont sand/bead blast the insides of any of them, or the valve covers at all). The intake, carb, ignition, cooling parts, and headers/manifolds will all run another $2500 depending, but deals can be found too. I would not replace the heads. You can save yourself a few hundred by reusing the iron, and not sacrifice anything but the "bling" effect. I also wouldnt spend anything more than getting a good performance valve job and using good parts. There's a similar build in the archives I left there a while ago. Just basic good performance machine work, solid parts, and you'll be stylin'.