'71 Duster 440 or 360? Pros and cons

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IMO a 440 with alum heads, WP, alum intake. which the last 2 seem to be standard rebuild on a 440. Stealth heads have proven to be a low cost good option for a 440. That being said IMO a 440 is W/O AC is gonna weigh just as much as a 360 car with air. Matter of fact when i did the numbers it really wasnt that much of a difference. You have both IMO even a warm 360 your still gonna want to beef up the trans which that money could go towards a 904 or 727 costing about the same. The big difference between BB and SB will be headers. Figure 500hp from both. The BB will cost you a basic rebuild, good carb, intake and cam. With that you would be in that 475hp- 500hp range on just a basic rebuild bumping compression an performance cam Same figures for a Stroker SB will cost you fancy ported heads, stroker kit and again good carb intake and cam.
 
go for it. you have to do alot to a 360 to make 500 hp. dollar for dollar you will get more hp out of the 440. so what you have to buy motor mounts. that $160. you will need headers. well a stroked 360 isnt gonna run well with manifolds now is it? TTI and dougs headers are same price for big or small block. you have to cut a small notch in the driver side motor mount on the k-member. fifteen min of work and a $2 cut off wheel from harbor freight. you will need to have your drive shaft cut and rebalanced. thats going to cost $150 max with new u-joints. you will need misc. crap like pulleys and brackets but thats all cheap and easy to find. you could post a want add here and have the parts in the mail the next day. you will however need a new transmission. your 904 wasnt going to live behind a stroked 360 anyways. if you do the 440 you dont need to buy a crank and rods. you need pistons and a basic rebuild. you can make 450-500 hp without even trying.
 
No turning back now! Just traded the 360 out of the car for a good BB727, a 440 windage tray, a Mopar cam and lifters and $150 on top of the parts.
 
bridger5228 said:
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Good one, try to have at least 9:1 compression. I ran 11.60s with the 280 .474, one step below yours. Use a factory high-stall converter and 3.91's. Good intake would be an RPM or a Holley Street Dominator with an 850 Holley dp carb. I ran 2" primary headers, but think it might have been quicker with 1 7/8". This was all done in the late '80s/early '90s...there might be a better intake available for mild 440s now - just don't get some huge runner race manifold.

Spend the money for good machine work, do your homework and find a shop that knows Mopar.
 
Go big or go home, with aluminum heads water pump housing and intake the 440 wont be any heavier then the 360. If you want to stroke something you can make the 440 over 500ci.... Personally I would just do a nice higher compression 440 with the light weight parts on it.
 
res1vw21 said:
Go big or go home, with aluminum heads water pump housing and intake the 440 wont be any heavier then the 360. If you want to stroke something you can make the 440 over 500ci.... Personally I would just do a nice higher compression 440 with the light weight parts on it.
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IMO anyone new to big block A-bodies and on a budget should start close to stock. Foolproof combos, cheaper initial build, bolt-on chassis mods. Seen it many times where guys spend all kinds of money on expensive parts for some killer engine and it runs like crap cause they don't know what parts work together and can't even tune the damn thing.

Regarding aluminum, the intake is a no-brainer, and water pump housing I agree on. Heads depends on his budget I guess...but i got the impression he already had alot on his plate as far as car projects.
 
talk to IQ52 on this site. he might be able to source you a decent set of alum heads... he does a lot of head flow tests, etc. and might know someone selling a performance set of heads so they can upgrade to all out race heads. give him a holla you never know
 
Jo Diesel said:
Invest in good light forged pistons. Can always add some spray later
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This true forged pistons in anything the only way to go when they are cold you will have alittle piston slap but you won't have to worry about them with spray or boost

Sent from my iPhone in the shop
 
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