More power the best way?

[Chryco Psycho]

Adding a gear vendors OD would give you 6 speeds & would not kill the highway driving using 3.91 gearing , that & a stall converter could seriously change the feel of you ride

[torqueaddict]

Ok well after some thought I am gonna send my 440 block to the machine shop to start my new buid. And piston suggestions? I am using stealth heads and a 78 440 block. I am gonna use the stock rods and forged crank. I am currently lookin at pistons but need a little advice. I want the highest compression possible on **** Cali gas. Thanks guys.

[Chryco Psycho]

I would use the 6 pack flat top piston with a closed chamber head , you will be close to 10:1 compression as long as you do not deck the block & will have quench to kill detonation
 you may want to seriously consider a stroker kit , the cost of machining the crank & rods & buying pistons & balancing  will be close to the cost of buying the stroker .

[MTS-Challenger]

Old (mopar) school way to get more speed was to use smaller diameter tires ( i used 14x245x50) to change the gear ratios equal to 3.91:1 or better, install a trans shift kit setup for reverse manual shifting to beat the stick, recurve the distburtor (a must - or better yet purchase an MSD programmable unit and lock out the dist), and of coarse get that engine to breath better with two 600 cfm carbs on a tunnel ram with stacks or at least an 850 cfm carb on a single plane and K&N filter.

Then replace your seat belt and hang on....

[Road_Runner]

Yes I have headers,I have an x pipe not a h pipe and my carb is a 675 cfm street avenger. I kinda would like to not have to go 391's because that will kill my freeway driving but I may not have much of a choice.  And Jim that sucks because from what I hear putting a new hemi is not as beneficial as the modern gm motors. That's very lame and I hope not all true.

  I think the biggest advantage GM's have, and have had as long as I can remember, is numbers as in numbers of cars built.  Growing up there was less than 1/2 dozen of us Mopars taking on hordes of Chevys & Fords.  Easily, 3,4,5x on the cruise strip every night and that's reflected in the cost of going fast as well.  The fact that they can sell 10x the numbers of Chevy parts vs. Mopar is why a Chevy xyz manifold costs $150 at the local Pep Boys, and if they can even get you one for a Mopar its easily $100 more.  In my experience that's true for many/most of the speed parts that go into making a fast motor.  So its ALWAYS been cheaper to get a given HP/TQ out of a Chevy motor than a Mopar, and there's more manufacturers chasing those speed parts dollars which means even more competition which breeds even better parts & lower costs.  So if you want to go fast cheap & easy, buy the GM.  If you want something that will always be more unique and sought after, spend a little more and kick ass with your Mopar!  That's really all I meant before.  My son ran with a fast crowd growing up, and he shared Youtube videos of his friends cars, some of them who had dual turbos AND NOS, and I knew right then I wouldn't be truly competitive with the big dogs on the street in the 2000's.  For one, I'm staying all motor, its the old school way to go and that's just who I am.

Later, Jim

[torqueaddict]

I would use the 6 pack flat top piston with a closed chamber head , you will be close to 10:1 compression as long as you do not deck the block & will have quench to kill detonation
 you may want to seriously consider a stroker kit , the cost of machining the crank & rods & buying pistons & balancing  will be close to the cost of buying the stroker .

Ok Neil after too long of not listening to you I think I am gonna go stroker. I may not do it from 440source just because I will pay tax for sure on the item becuase we are both in Comifornia, and suggestions on who else makes a decent kit? I was thinking either Mancini or Hughes. Neil maybe you can help me pick out  package.

[Topcat]

Get the block done first.
By that meaning: get it honed, and/or bored then decked.

That will be your adjusted block deck height and bore dia. numbers.
If the block needs to get bored, it needs a sonic check first to make sure there's enough material.

Your heads are next. They need to be CC'd if they get shaved.

Now you have specs to order a Stroker kit.
You can't just stick pistons in an engine and expect to get 10:5 to 1 compression.

You have to get everything measured up prior to ordering a stroker kit.

[Chryco Psycho]

Mancini or Muscle motors would be the first people I would talk to , Hughes is his own worst enemy , difficult to deal with .
 The 512 kit seem to work well , you can use the longer 7.1 " con rods & short pistons without putting the oil ring over the wrist pin , durable & torquey pkg .
 With ported iron heads you can make 600+ gross hp & over 700 ft lbs tq with good drivability , all below 6000 rpm ,which is great for typical street use . The heads limit the top power to around 5500 , with better heads you can move the powerband up if you desire 

[Topcat]

I dealt with Muscle Motors for my stroker kit.
Their prices were good. I went with forged custom made, diamond pistons.

I would recommend you have your local machinist do the final balancing and not let them do it.
I won't go into details but trust me why I know this.

[mopar12372]

get a MRL PERFORMANCE STROKER KIT !!! call and talk to mike he can  guide you to the direction you wish. http://www.mrlperformance.com/

[torqueaddict]

I went to MRL's website, there was not alot of info however. Muscle motors on the other hand had tons of info. I think I may order from them.

[72cudamaan]

get a MRL PERFORMANCE STROKER KIT !!! call and talk to mike he can  guide you to the direction you wish. http://www.mrlperformance.com/

    Mike's site may not be that big, but he is very knowledgeable and can help get you where
you want to be with a motor.

[torqueaddict]

Guys, am I supposed to get the kit first or get the block taken care of first? I'm getting conflicting info from different sources.

[Chryco Psycho]

you can start with the block as far as cleaning , checking main alignment , installing cam brgs  etc ........ but you  have to have the parts before you bore the block , the bores have to be fitted to the piston size

[torqueaddict]

Ok do I gotta wait till te stroker kit comes then. Neil can you tell me what to order? This is getting really difficult, I just want the most power possible on pumped gas while having decent street Manners. I'm using the stealth heads with no porting. Would the stroker formula from that rt coronet be my best bet u think?