Going to build a 440 - any thoughts?

ok

a stock 440 is not gonna be slow
it will be very street friendly
will sip a bit of gas. (dont pass him the whiskey bottle lol.)

best bang for budget out of the chute is new bearings (rod crank cam) new oil pump new rings / block hot tanked / bores checked new pistons if needed.

then you have a relaible street motor that will do great. you can just run truck manifolds if you want.

next steps if budget warrants: if pistons are needed get a set of KB's that bring the compression up to 9.5:1 and have the block decked.

then next step would be invest in heads. aluminums would be nice. and some headers. gonna make it loud give more power lighten up the front end. you could use ported stock heads also. contact brian at imm or IQ52 they might hook you up...

main thing: get someone local to help you put it together, make buddies with the machine shop everything needs to be balanced,checked,clearanced,cleaned,etc. there is a lot that goes into it