2 Big Block Questions

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jonn6464

1970 Duster
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Okay, somebody please school me...

1) 413 engine. Trucks only? Any cars that came with this engine? Do they make good motors for street cars/weekend drivers?

2) 440 RV engine. I've been seeing a bunch, in my local area, for sale cheap. Like really cheap. All the ads make a point of calling out that it was in an RV. Can this be a decent street car motor?

Thanks
 
Lots of cars with the 413. The 413 was the first MAX WEDGE. 13.5:1 compression super stock badass. Google it.

On the 440 the answer is "maybe". If it does not have the industrial top half, heads, intake and exhaust manifolds, it might be worth messin with.......otherwise.......not so much.
 
I'm going to put a 413 in my Dart, I couldn't find a 440 for reasonable money so I grabbed the 413.

I ran an RV 440 for a while, but it blew up on me, but I got four years of driving it hard before that happened. I have two other RV engines, one was a dud, big hole in one piston, but the other was a runner, hope it still is.

Plenty of RV engines out there for cheap, you just have to search. I haven't paid more than $900 for an engine and transmission combo, but that one came with enough extra parts to make it worthwhile. My average price has been around $500.
 
RV 440's are usually a good score. Usually have fairly low highway miles. Some have the 452 RV heads that has steam ports. Good durable head. I've had several.
The 413 usually had the industrial heads. Some 440's had them but most had the normal heads.
 
The industrial heads use the regular intake too, usually raised carb flange for the holly carb.
 
I'll buy 440 blocks if the price is right. I won't buy 413 blocks. I won't even haul them away for free. A complete 413 might be worth picking up for free if you need the crank or some of the tin. A good 440 block is usually worth a few hundred dollars.
 
The only problem with a stock 440 RV engine is they are extremely low compression. I used one for a core recently and the pistons were .156" below the deck. If you want it to make good power you either have to deck the block a lot or buy new pistons. If your buying pistons then you might as well buy a 4.15" stroke crank to go with them.

Tom
 
Okay, somebody please school me...

1) 413 engine. Trucks only? Any cars that came with this engine? Do they make good motors for street cars/weekend drivers?

2) 440 RV engine. I've been seeing a bunch, in my local area, for sale cheap. Like really cheap. All the ads make a point of calling out that it was in an RV. Can this be a decent street car motor?

Thanks
for members who love history, the Facel Vega car used 413.
 
Later RV engines were non 440-3 industrial. Like 75-78. They also made a 318-3 and a 360-3 industrial engine.
 
I don't understand the word "industrial engine"?

Chrysler engines were used for all sorts of industrial uses. Motorhomes, trucks, air raid sirens, industrial compressors, mining equipment, etc. The shortblocks are usually the same as HP engines but sometimes the upper parts were different. Personally I consider 413 industrial engines to be scrap but not everybody shares that opinion. A 440 industrial engine might be an okay core for a street car or a race car. You just don't know until you invest a bunch of time in tearing it apart.
 
Chrysler engines were used for all sorts of industrial uses. Motorhomes, trucks, air raid sirens, industrial compressors, mining equipment, etc. The shortblocks are usually the same as HP engines but sometimes the upper parts were different. Personally I consider 413 industrial engines to be scrap but not everybody shares that opinion. A 440 industrial engine might be an okay core for a street car or a race car. You just don't know until you invest a bunch of time in tearing it apart.
okay now i understand better this way of classifying the different engine models.
 
*I Think* it was Roadkill that took a 440 RV into the low 12’s on there first outing. Edelbrock top end and a sizable cam. It is what I’d call a direction I would not take myself. But the healthy (To start with) 440 ran well enough.

They are very low in compression. Again, *I Think* they used closed chambered Edelbrock heads to get a 9.5-1.
 
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