440 Build Starts Today!

[nivvy]

  ................... waste of money.

why is that.... 

[tactransman]

They do not grip or hold better than the other stuff out there and they are 4 times the price!

[nivvy]

first I ever heard that... 
I done ever waste money what do you mean..... 

[RDF]

Went today to drop the $$$ off for the assembly.....

So now that that's under way, I'll be taking in new ideas/suggestions as to where to spend my money next.....we talked about heads and he said he's got a set of 452's that he can do some minor port work on and save me a whole bunch of $$$ instead of going new or aluminum.  We also discussed intake and carb setup.  I told him I'm a big fan of the 6-pack setup and so is he, so I think I'm sold on that.  Now it's just cam, lifters, rockers, timing chains/gears (whatcha think of gears vs chains?), and oil pan.

Please chim in on ideas/thoughts on all this as I've stated before, I'm not expert on building a motor, but I think I'm surrounded by some pretty good people that can help guide me in the right direction.   

[nivvy]

mopar .528 solid cam / double roller chain / crane ductile iron rockers / 3.55 or 3.91's depending on tire and 3" exhaust

[Chryco Psycho]

All good choices 
 I would use a 1.6 rocker with the .528 cam , or look into a Lunati solid grind instead of the older MP cam
 JP has an awesome Billet double roller chain with 7 keyways & a torrington brg  , make sure you use a 3 bolt chain & cam
 I woudl use the Hemi factory baffled pan
 

[71chally416]

Not a big fan of putting $$$ into old iron heads, but if you do here's your choices. For comparison a stock truck 5.7 Hemi head flows over 270cfm with a 2" valve. 

[nivvy]

Not a big fan of putting $$$ into old iron heads, but if you do here's your choices. For comparison a stock truck 5.7 Hemi head flows over 270cfm with a 2" valve. 

not argueing with you about the flow numbers but since were playing the numbers game using the 2.1HP per cfm of flow rule 270cfm comes up to about 560+HP and the 5.7 hemis are not even close to that.......

440 / 906 heads was rated at "375" Hp and only 200 cfm at stock cam lift which is about 410HP as per flow numbers and is down 70cfm (150HP appx)compared to the 5.7 hemi with the smaller valve....

I also hate all in house dynos of ANY kind...... yes they are a tool for a number but thats it and can be very misleading! IMO a real dyno is 1320ft long and tells you what the motor likes and the car wants 

[71chally416]

The 5.7 Hemi is way undercammed and is strapped with horrible exhaust manifolds. I've seen tests where they just switch the cam and install headers and kiss 500hp, with the low compression they have stock, the stock valve springs and just 345 cubes. It isn't hard to imagine getting 560hp from one with the normal race motor tricks like more compression and a little head work (300cfm is cake on them with a little port cleanup) Those HP figures you see for air flow through cylinder heads are worthless if the right parts aren't used along with them to take full advantage of it, and the engine has to have the ability to operate at the rpm necessary.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/articles/smallblockshootout/0602phr_hemi/index.html

I think your better off spending money on some better heads and retaining the stock 440 cubes instead of stuffing a bigger arm in an already big motor if you have a limited budget to work with. You want more HP, not more TQ. A big 440 already has plenty of that. Just my 

[nivvy]

I agree why not spend the same money on aluminum over iron... some people are purist..... if you want a fully worked set of iron heads buy them off someone already done and you get em way better of a deal then having them completely gone over yourself.... let them take the loss 

[moparmaniac59]

Sounds like you're gonna have a great motor there RDF. You've got some great folks here for advice. A stroker sounds like fun and gobs of power if done right!! I've got a 440 that I plan on sticking a set of aluminum 440 source Stealth heads on this summer. I plan on doing like 71Chally416 mentioned and going with better heads and cam on the standard 440. Since you are still looking for cam selection I too would like to know what folks out there recommend in a hyd roller??

                                                              Matt B.

[71chally416]

I'm not a big fan of the hydraulic rollers. They're great for stock 318's and 360's but They seem to suffer at high RPM with the more aggressive race grinds. Probably better off going with a flat tappet solid cam like an Engle or Lunati.   

[The Cuda Guy]

if you want a fully worked set of iron heads buy them off someone already done and you get em way better of a deal then having them completely gone over yourself.... let them take the loss 

 

[71chally416]

As long as they were done right and valves aren't all sunk. They'll flow worse than stockers if they are.

[74 340 4speed]

If it were me, I would put a 4 barrel intake and carb on it and use that extra money towards your heads.  Going this route would give you at least 400-700 more dollars to work with on the heads.  The power will be in the heads/cam/compression.   Whats the word on the aluminum 440 source heads?  $900 fully assembled and ready to bolt on.