Hemi Vs. 340six Pac

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LIL FISH

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Hello everyone,in my 68 fastback is a 318/904a. Is there anyone who has had any luck installing either a 426 or a 340 six pack in there a- bodies?. I have done some reading about the Hemi cudas of the day and it seems there is a little moving around of things, meaning shock tower on the rightside ,and the master cylinder etc. It seems that the 340 was the engine to have. But I do like that big block sound. Please share with me any of your thoughts. Thanks LIL,FISH or Chris
 
depends on what you want. a big block in an a-body tends to be a lot to handle. small blocks can be made to out perform big blocks easily and you dont have all that weight in the front end...easy to tell im a small block guy but theres nothing like layin down 30ft of black at a 25mph roll..
 
There's no substituite for cubic inches, but that also means cubic dollars. If all you want to do is profille on cruise night, a stroked smallblock & a sheetmetal intake will get you looks. If you want to re-live the 60s, IMO a big block (aka Hemi) is the way to go.
Actually it's not all that tough to do--- hammer the @#$%^ out of the passenger inner fender, get the plate from Mancini racing to move the master cylinder and get some headers. Now if you wanna build a clone car, THAT takes some time & effort & there's been volumes done on that. I'm planning my 3rd one right now!=P~
 
Also, remember big blocks are abit more heavier then small blocks, so cornering and stopping are different then with the small block, unless you get an aluminum bloack and heads =P~, so make shure you upgrade your ability to stop.
 
Both 383 and 440's were in A-body Barracuda's from the factory with out and sheet metal modifications. The Hurst hemi A-bodies required some creative denting of the inner fender on the drivers side and an offset mount for the MC but otherwise fit.

MP is selling 440 cid small block crate motors now so you can have your cake and eat it too.
 
There are conversion motor mounts available to put a big block on a sb k-member. You should change torsion bars the sb heavy duty 340 bars were .870" in diameter the big block bars are .890" (I use the bb bars on my small block Barracuda). I believe only the Hurst Hemi A-bodies had addtional stiffening on the torque boxes but torque box stiffeners and sub frame connectors are a good idea whether you have sb or bb.
 
I have a 440 in my 72 demon and I had to install subframe connectors and larger torsion bars. You need to notch out the k-frame if you use original for the oil pump! Exhaust is another issue, mine has fenderwell headers. I love the sound of a built big block!! Jared
 
You have to ask yourself how much do you want to spend. The Hemi, or the 440 S.B. someone mentioned above is going to chew up a $20K bill (as in $20,000) if you do the work yourself...and that will only get you an engine and "marginal" trans. The 340 6-pak you mention is great/would be great if yours was a 70 and you were building an AAR clone. That leads back to the realization of if all you are trying to do is build a car for yourself to have fun with, go thru an evolutionary cycle and build the 318 a little, until you want to move to a 360 that will eventually become a 40X strocker...then the heads...then the rear...then the convertor...bigger cam. And before you know it you will have spent that $20K anyway...it will just be over a decade, your bank account will look just like ours. All of your clothes will have grease on them. Most everyone will look at you strange...Even Chevy guys won't talk to you...AIN'T IT GREAT!!!:bootysha:
 
Thanks for the info.Ihad a 68 Road Runner with a 383, took it out and put in a built 440; some years ago, man that thing loved tires. I am still looking and reading about the whole idea. The car runs okay and I just like being in it but theirs always that little tug for more power.
 
hemicop said:
There's no substituite for cubic inches, but that also means cubic dollars. If all you want to do is profille on cruise night, a stroked smallblock & a sheetmetal intake will get you looks. If you want to re-live the 60s, IMO a big block (aka Hemi) is the way to go.
Actually it's not all that tough to do--- hammer the @#$%^ out of the passenger inner fender, get the plate from Mancini racing to move the master cylinder and get some headers. Now if you wanna build a clone car, THAT takes some time & effort & there's been volumes done on that. I'm planning my 3rd one right now!=P~
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Thanks for the info.What do you know about moving the right shock tower?
 
I would build a stout 360 for the money and drop it in with what you already have. You could start with a crate motor and just add what you wanted from there. They`re good for 12.5 second 1/4 miles with the right gear and tire. Don`t get me wrong I love a big block too, but when installing a big block in one of these cars you have to think TOTAL BUILD and that means brakes,exhaust, suspension, differential, and cooling as well as a host of other issues. The price can get very high depending on what you want to do. Many people on the site here can tell you what a well conceived, performance built ,360 will do in your car. In the end all that matters is that you get the satisfaction out of it that you want and that the car serves your purpose.
 
Longgone hit the nail on the head. If you're considering putting a BB in an A Body you have to consider the entire car from the rad all the way to the leaf springs and be prepared, beforehand, to spend some serious money. My Demon for instance was a factory /6 so the entire original power train was toast. Oh yea, ya also got to consider that all that money you're about to sink into the car is sometimes more than you'll ever get back if you decide to sell it, so be prepared to take a loss. Myself, I'm going to be cremated in this car when the time comes, that'll be a big assed furnace.

Terry
 
I concurr. I did the swap in my '67 Barracuda. I had nothing but problems. Have'nt even finished it, going on 3 years, most likely will take out the new 383, 727, 8.75 and install it in a mid '60s b-body. There is no room to change plugs, everything is a fight. Unless you plan to drag it exclusively, stay with the small block.
 
Let me also add to this conversation. I just finally took out my stroked smallblock 408 out yesterday, and all I have to say is....DAAAAAMMM!!!!!:toothy10: I also have a 69 Hemi Charger that will soon receive a Ray Barton 528, so I can't say yay or nay on the Big block thing yet, but I think this smallblock in my Abody will probably kick most mild bigblocks asses. This freaking stroked smallblock is an absolute MONSTER for the Cuda. My neighbor is a Chevy guy, but hes nothing short of impressed at this stroker smallblock. We're talking pulling the wheels off the ground with ease! I'm still on an adrenaline rush!!!:-D
 
Dead End Kid said:
And before you know it you will have spent that $20K anyway...it will just be over a decade, your bank account will look just like ours. All of your clothes will have grease on them. Most everyone will look at you strange...Even Chevy guys won't talk to you...AIN'T IT GREAT!!!:bootysha:
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I really like this guy's thinking! :toothy10:

When I read this I started to laugh. I mean REAL hard.... My wife was breaking my Ball-Joints recently about not buying any new clothes in a while, but that my %$#@ car looks pretty good! Yeah, spend it now...or spend it constantly. That about sums it up!

And just to prevent a thread hi-jack, here's my opinion on small blocks with tri-power:

SANY0012-vi.jpg


Do it. :toothy10:
 
LIL said:
Thanks for the info.What do you know about moving the right shock tower?
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The shock tower was basically "moved" over with a hammer, believe it or not. But you do have to consider the whole build. I'm starting my 3rd HemiDart project and doing something betwenn a clone car & a S/S for this one. If you're putting a wedge in it you'll have the problem of fenderwell headers unless someone knows where you can get under-chassis ones then you'll still have plug accessibility issues. I like the idea of a stroker, but like most people to me there's nothing like a Hemi. A completely different approach --- why don't you do a 3rd gen Hemi swap?
 
Thanks;I recently read in Mopar Muscle about 3G under 2G. I was about a junkyard 5.7 with the carb. converson, it seems it would be a shoe in. I think TTI might be a place to find headers aswell. But know I have been looking into a 413 I have fond. Its out of a 65 Imperial . I am thinking Crossram,A727, 355 rear and hopefully TTI headers. I understand that there is a under chassie set made but one tube on the right side goes through the fenderwell.
 
LIL said:
Thanks for the info.What do you know about moving the right shock tower?
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Just hammer the inner fender. You won't have to move any shock mounting points or anything like that ---- that was done on the '65 cars.
 
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