340 vs 440

[Cooter]

No brainer.....440 or 500 Cu.In. period....You could build a nice little 340, then the VERY first time you got your ass handed to you by a BB 440, you'd be back on here asking how you can get 650 HP out of your 340 you have all that money in....Just simply go for the biggest/baddest engine offered and you will never have to wonder "What if"...Gas mileage, sh*t, I mean how often do you drive these type cars and worry bout gas mileage...ALL of my cars have a FUN gauge instead of a Fuel gauge..A 550 HP 440 will burn just as much fuel as a 550 HP 340....But, it costs less..True, a less weight engine will out handle a 440 car, but the last time I checked, you can't run anywhere near 90 MPH for sustained periods of time without getting the police involved. You stand a better chance of going stop light to stop light but here still, the police will get involved...

[hotrod98]

Cooter...I like the way you think. 

[torredcuda]

"for a weekend driver and occasional car show, and mostly fun to drive car, which motor would you choose?"

650hp bigblocks are great but for what he wants to do a nice 400-450hp smallblock is the way to go.My 9.2-1 J head 340 cruises nice,idles in traffic without overheating,runs low 13`s right off the street and takes off ramps at 80mph.To me a 650hp bigblock would be great for the track but pretty useless on the street unless you have a spot for lots of stoplight racing and you can get enough traction(big sticky meats) but even then it`s only good for straightline blasts unless you have some serious suspension under it.

[Moparal]

Im not a small block guy, but I kinda agree with Jeff.  Even a 350 hp 340 would be great for your plans. I have been over by your house. You are needing long range cruising and less blvd blasts to enjoy your car.

[NoMope Greg]

Unless you really want a 340, why not get a 360 block for cheap and use some of the money you save vs the 340 and stroke it to 408? 

[brads70]

No brainer.....440 or 500 Cu.In. period....You could build a nice little 340, then the VERY first time you got your ass handed to you by a BB 440, you'd be back on here asking how you can get 650 HP out of your 340 you have all that money in....Just simply go for the biggest/baddest engine offered and you will never have to wonder "What if"...Gas mileage, sh*t, I mean how often do you drive these type cars and worry bout gas mileage...ALL of my cars have a FUN gauge instead of a Fuel gauge..A 550 HP 440 will burn just as much fuel as a 550 HP 340....But, it costs less..True, a less weight engine will out handle a 440 car, but the last time I checked, you can't run anywhere near 90 MPH for sustained periods of time without getting the police involved. You stand a better chance of going stop light to stop light but here still, the police will get involved...

   Well said! Lets face is these cars DON'T handle! My 05 Suburban out handles my BB Challenger! But... in a straight line WAHOO! As  Cooter said "the fun meter"! LOL

[TinCuda]

I have driven both, my 440 and a friend of mines 340 'cudas.  I would go with the 440.  The 340 is lighter and fun to drive but let's face it.  When you have a couple of people standing around, they always end up asking what's under the hood.  At the end of the day, you will want to say 440.  Kind of goes with owning these type of cars.

[hotrod98]

I know one thing...I don't like showing my small block cars because they get absolutely no respect. Some people go so far as to roll their eyes when they look under the hood and see that little mouse motor. Oh sure, it gets good fuel mileage and is fun to drive but I love driving and showing my big block cars. Cudas just can't be badazz without some serious displacement. You don't have to build it radical. A bone stock 440 is plenty fast enough. My bone stock 440-6 Superbird gets 12 mpg so the fuel mileage isn't all that bad either.
As for the cost factor, I can build a bone stock 440 cheaper than a warmed up 340.
I've been slowly selling off my small block cars or switching the engines out for big blocks as time and money allows.
I'm keeping the 360 in my 71 Barracuda drag car though since it's the only car slow enough that the track lets me take passengers in it. The track's insurance company won't let anyone with a passenger run faster than an 11.20.
My 71 Cuda drag car with the 440 is so much faster.   

[67vertman]

I know one thing...I don't like showing my small block cars because they get absolutely no respect. Some people go so far as to roll their eyes when they look under the hood and see that little mouse motor. Oh sure, it gets good fuel mileage and is fun to drive but I love driving and showing my big block cars. Cudas just can't be badazz without some serious displacement. You don't have to build it radical. A bone stock 440 is plenty fast enough. My bone stock 440-6 Superbird gets 12 mpg so the fuel mileage isn't all that bad either.

Thanks HotRod98, I am pretty sure now that I will stick to my orginal plan and go with the big block.  I plan on it having about 500 hp and 500 ft lbs of torque, so it will still be streetable and have the car show wow factor.  I also want to add a fuel injected 6 pak, when the funds allow.

[challengermaniac]

From my experience, it's the small blocks that get driven (for all of the reasons stated above) and it's the big blocks that sit in the garages and only come out to play once in a while at car shows. 

I just finished the rebuild on my 340 (what a blast, and I am still in break in mode)!  If $ are a factor, consider going with a 360 instead, as the whole 340 thing is expensive. 

[hotrod98]

Around here it's right the opposite. It's the big block cars that get driven and the small block cars tend to sit in the garage.
My wife does drive her fuel injected 360 Cuda occasionally.
My son prefers driving the big block cars but my daughter prefers the small block cars.
I'm in the process of changing out the 360 in my 80 Crewcab dually for a 440. That 360 just didn't have the brute power needed to pull my fully loaded 28' race car trailer.

[torredcuda]

I do agree the big block tends to get more repsect from those who don`t know any better.  I always get asked "you got a 440 in it?" and the 340 doesnt get much response but that`s OK when I beat some 440 cars by 1 second or better in the 1/4.

[Cooter]

yep, when I had my short lived 340 and 360 SB Chryslers, I too out ran a buddy in his 440 car...A 1966 Dodge Coronet, with a '78 440 Police Interceptor no less!

[hotrod98]

My wife outran a Viper with her Daytona pickup one time. 

[cudadave72]

I agree with torred. There aint no shame in my game. I proudly fly the 340 flag (hockey stick) on the side of my car. Like he said people who dont know any better might not be impressed but I know a big block guys heart has to sink when I pull his doors off backwards! As far as a daily driver... its 98 degrees out today with 90% humidity and in my parking lot sits the Cuda.