My first 440 Build

[forumpete]

Good morning guys!  I know there are lots of build threads out there and a lot of opinions, hopefully you won't mind sharing some insight with me.  I've got a '70 'Cuda, 440, automatic.  I've had the car about 17 years but never really gotten my hands dirty.  It started out as a Gran Coupe 383 4-Speed and swapped to a 440 w/ 727 by PO.  The car was bought in fairly decent shape but not running and needed quite a bit of body work.  Neither me or my dad knew much about auto repair so we enlisted a builder.  I never had any intention of having a numbers matching car so we decided to do a 'Cuda clone (mostly removal of a lot of chrome).  The builder got the car running and all was well enough.  I never put many miles on the car and its mostly sat for the last 10 years.  Anyway, thats enough backstory.  A couple of years ago I got the car running for a weekend at GoodGuys.  By the end of the weekend the motor was leaking fluids everywhere and really didnt want to run.  The car was again parked.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm finally ready to dive in and make things right.  I initially planned on leaving the motor in place and replacing the gaskets I could reach.  After thorough inspection I realized there would be quite a few gaskets I wouldnt be able to reach without pulling the motor and I figured those would of course be the ones that leaked.  So, the motor is out.  My thoughts now are that I'm not going to put the motor back in without a thorough inspection to insure that all is good.  I don't want to do this again anytime soon.  I've found a local engine builder who quoted me $250 to inspect and hot tank.  He said that if I decided to do any machining he'd work that $250 into it. 

While of course I would love to dump a ton of money into this and build the biggest, baddest thing out there its simply not in the cards.  I have no intention of taking this thing to the strip.  I want the car to sound like a badass and smoke the hell out of the tires leaving the local show, thats about it. 

After a lot of reading and discussing here's what I'm thinking about doing.  Please pick apart my ideas as you see fit.

1)  Leave bottom end alone if builder doesn't see any real issue
2)  Invest in some aluminum heads from 440 source
3)  Install Whiplash cam (is a roller really worth it??)
4)  Swapping back to 23 spline 4-Speed

Thanks a lot guys and sorry for the long read!

[dave73chally]

First I'd determine my budget, that will directly effect your plans. Make sure the engine builder is reputable and trust his suggestions. I'd have it fully disassembled and inspected, re-use what you can. Some parts may be more cost effective to buy new than rebuild depending on condition.

[forumpete]

First I'd determine my budget, that will directly effect your plans. Make sure the engine builder is reputable and trust his suggestions. I'd have it fully disassembled and inspected, re-use what you can. Some parts may be more cost effective to buy new than rebuild depending on condition.

Very good points.  My budget is honestly the least I can spend at this point.  The main thing is that I don't want to waste money.  I'll spend it where I need to make sure the car runs strong and is reliable.  Like I mentioned, this is a weekend cruiser nothing too serious.  As far as the builder goes I have my doubts about everyone.  A local classic car shop recommended him.  I spoke to him and he sounds like a straight forward guy but who really knows. 

[dave73chally]

Breakdown as much of the engine as you can yourself, should limit labor costs. Do it in stages if you need to, do it right once.

[Chryco Psycho]

The 440 is a strong runner even stock , I agree with tearing it down yourself to a point , but you want to look at bearings to make sure the wear is right or it need to have the block align honed or if rods are bent etc so go slow taking it apart as you can learn a lot this way .
 I suspect you will have to change pistons as Alum heads will require 1 point more compression & you want to have quench . Changing to a modern cam such as Lunati VooDoo or Whiplash makes sense , the problem is nothing is right anymore , everything is a compromise so using any flat tappet cam solid or hyd requires special oils , nothing off the shelf is right for flat tappet cams , hyd roller is an option but also expensive , you can use regular oils but you need Bronze dist drive & fuel pump pushrod & a cam button to work with the roller cam . Once you pull the pistons you will likely have to hone the cylinder & install new rings minimum .
 You may seriously want to consider stroking it to 512 ci as the 440 source kit with new rings pistons, crank , brgs & rods will be similar in cost to reworking the crank & rods & buying new pistons , rings ,brg & rod bolts

[cudabob496]

what's quench mean?

[Chryco Psycho]

Quench is having the piston between .040& .070 max from the head , this creates massive turbulence in the cylinder & prevents detonation with high compression builds

[mauls]

Great advice, by the way, that's his 70 cuda in my signature.

[forumpete]

Hey guys, I pulled the pan this evening to remove a main and piston bearing (good call mauls). 

What do you guys think?

#5 Cylinder:


Front Main:


Thanks!

[Todd440]

The best way to go about it, is start with the end in mind.  Sounds funny, but think about what your goals are for the finished product.  Do you just want a 350hp driver, or do you want a 11 .0 second street pounder. 
What year is the motor, steel or cast crank?  Is the crank drilled for a pilot bushing?
Either way, you should really take it apart, get the block cleaned, new gaskets, and such.  I think you'd be amazed at how much play can be in an old timing chain, so look at that too.

[jhaag]

crank looks like crap. you got some work and expense ahead of you.

[forumpete]

Well...it looks like 512 stroker, stealth heads, and voodoo cam is the route I'm going with.  Damn, and I was just going to replace gaskets :/

[dave73chally]

Hahaha join the club, exactly what I'm doing. You'll be better off in the long run 

[forumpete]

Alright, I'm getting a little more nervous.  After closer examination it appears my block has already been bored 30 over.  I'm new to this of course but my cylinder walls don't look too great to me.  What do you guys think?  Will a little hone clear this up or am I screwed?

Thanks!

[Chryco Psycho]

can't really tell , how deep is the pitting ?