i bought a 440...

[69dodgedart360]

a friend of my brother's has decided to get rid of all of his stuff because he is moving out and cant keep it all. So from there im called and told he has a 440and pretty much the short block to go along with it only its not assembled. i checked it out the block has already been bored 40 over but looks nice since its already had the work done to it, the pistons are 40 over (flat tops) cast crank has been turned already he gave me the rings for the pistons and threw in a new timing chain, cam with lifters (nothing special just a Crane rv type hydraulic), harmonic balancer and all the bolts for the block....for $200. i originally was gonna go the stroker route but now with this i am debating my options haha. What is really needed for me to put this thing in the car? its a 69 dodge dart, the front suspension has already been rebuilt with energy suspension stuff and it has the .092 torsion bars too.
P.S. how much more weight is going to be on the nose and can anyone say how much of a difference the handling was when they did the swap? o and can i still run power steering? i dunno why im asking its probably No haha
thanks

 

[demon seed]

a friend of my brother's has decided to get rid of all of his stuff because he is moving out and cant keep it all. So from there im called and told he has a 440and pretty much the short block to go along with it only its not assembled. i checked it out the block has already been bored 40 over but looks nice since its already had the work done to it, the pistons are 40 over (flat tops) cast crank has been turned already he gave me the rings for the pistons and threw in a new timing chain, cam with lifters (nothing special just a Crane rv type hydraulic), harmonic balancer and all the bolts for the block....for $200. i originally was gonna go the stroker route but now with this i am debating my options haha. What is really needed for me to put this thing in the car? its a 69 dodge dart, the front suspension has already been rebuilt with energy suspension stuff and it has the .092 torsion bars too.
P.S. how much more weight is going to be on the nose and can anyone say how much of a difference the handling was when they did the swap? o and can i still run power steering? i dunno why im asking its probably No haha
thanks

The .920 bars maybe a little stiff even for a 440, you may want to consider .890 bars. As far as weight goes, that's a crap shoot cuss a lot of the guys go with headers, alum. intake and sometimes heads, aluminum water pump and if you go with a fiberglass hood you can easily shed 100# off the front end. My handling didn't change but I shed that 100 lbs. and power steering can be used with the 440 but she's tight. In short you've got to have front disc's, big rad., subframe connectors, 8 3/4 minimum and a fat wallet cuss you just never seem to be done. IMHO.

Terry

 

[69dodgedart360]

ya i figured if i eliminated as much heavy iron stuff then that could help, and thankfully i already have a bigger aluminum radiator, bigger bolt pattern with disc brakes and a fiberglass hood phew! but i knew that traction is gonna be limited so subframe connectors and tubbing are gonna have to happen sooner or later. i have looked at a couple of big block darts and changing spark plugs looks like a lot of fun. would it be easier if i bought a set of manifolds or headers whether they are from schumacher or tti? ya unfortunately my wallet is not that big so this is gonna take awhile, i have a small car payment and i work only part time because of school

 

[demon seed]

I'm partial to Schumachers for medium built engines and cuss it's the devil you know, they don't capture the mini starter (also for weight loss) and changing plugs is no biggy but they are pricey.

Terry

 

[Jim Lusk]

There's nothing wrong with .920" torsion bars. I consider them the minimum for ANY a-body build that isn't a drag-only car these days.