low buck 440 build questions.

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moturbopar

moturbopar

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Ok I need some input on my 440 build. The engine is a 73 440 from a motorhome. low mile under 30,000 no ridge can still see all the hone marks, no sludge and bearings still look new! Ok I know its not an a body but its going into a 73 charger.
My plans so far
stock short block, new rings and hone job.
Heads are 346 castings, large valves 2.14 1.81, ported
intake flow exh flow
.100 75 .100 53
.200 152 .200 103
.300 202 .300 138
.400 244 .400 172
.500 259 .500 186
.550 276 .550 192
.600 282 .600 194

Will be running a worked over old edelbrock ch4b manifold
Holley 750
The biggest problem is the compression. with head milling and a thin head gasket, looks like the best I can get is 8.3 to 1
so for a cam I was thinking a hughes whiplash http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/...V2hpcGxhc2ggTXVzY2xlIENhciBjYW1z&partid=25116
Or howards cam http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-720581-10
1 3/4 long tube headers to 2.5 dual exhaust.
Car has 3.55 gears, and was looking at this for the converter http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tac-17805st/overview/

So which cam Or what would you recommend? Do you think this would be capable of getting a heavy b body into the 12s?
 
I'll jump in for fun......As far as the cam, i'd think the Hughes may build a little more cylinder pressure considering your combo. The heads should be plenty for your power level and with that manifold, carb and compression, you definitely want to focus on maximizing torque.

As far as the 12's.....maybe? The "real" performance of that torque converter will be crucial. In my opinion, at that price, you're only a buck or two from getting a custom build just for your combo, whether it's from T/A, PTC, Ultimate, etc.

At a guesstimate of 3900lbs wet w/you in it......it will take about 350/360hp to run high 12's. Taking into account the 3.55's, i'd like to see a little more. The 73/74 low comp Magnum's made about 270/275 net. If your mods get you 75 to 100hp. I think it's doable. Good traction at the track will be required also. :thumleft:

Just some opinion, Good Luck.
 
Thanks, I have a set of 3.91s I could run. At this point 3.55 vs 3.91 or whatever, its not a mpg engine:evil4: So Im not stuck on gears. I was thinking about having a custom converter built, but though it would be much more than the converter listed! I can have the howards cam ground on a tighter lobe separation also to bump up cranking compresion, still cheaper than the hughes cam. I have a set of std 69 440 4bbl pistons available that are in real nice shape, would these bump the compression up? I don't know much about the difference in pistons through the years.
 
As far as the cam, the lsa will effect the peakiness of the torque and the idle quality. The intake valve closing point is more important as far as building cylinder pressure.

On the pistons, and i'm going by what I've read, i believe the 68/69 had the best pin height other then the 6pack pistons. Hope some others will chime in on that?

On the converter.....It wont hurt to make a few calls and see what recommendation and pricing you can get from the big boy's. It's gonna be very important in how your combo runs, in my opinion.
 
That converter/cam combo ,key here.Like the narrow lobe center idea. A newer more modern cam grind,goes a long way here. Spec the gears,before calling on the converter.These heavier cars,really respond with matched components.
 
this is way out there. You know head flow. Nothing about the rest of the engine. Good luck.
 
green1 said:
this is way out there. You know head flow. Nothing about the rest of the engine. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm not for sure what you are saying.
Head flow is the easy part when you
Have a flow bench.
 
Save some headache now and just save some money for some pistons. Why go to all the trouble, unless you're on welfare and have nothing but time.
 
Heads have good low lift flow,should be snappy done right.
 
Ok comparing the pistons, the 69s are about .060 taller than the 73 pistons! So should be a nice bump in compression. Should be in the low 9s. I will have to mock up a piston and rod and see how far down in the hole it sits for sure.
 
What about piston weight differences? Might want to check it.
 
I don't know if this is any help,
I have a 76 motorhome block with .30 over pistons that are about .18 down in the hole. I have a set of 915 heads that have the larger exhaust valves, and steel shim head gaskets. It has a custom built Holley 750 sitting on an Edelbrock rpm performer manifold, and a 3000 stall. I'm running 3.91 gears. With all that my car runs 12.40's @ 108. I haven't weighed the car, but I'm guessing it weighs around 3400, and I'm 300. I'm fairly close to sea level, but our DA is typically not very good considering.
 
I forgot to mention that by doing compression calculators, the results are that I'm around 8.1/1 compression.
 
Nice car!! Runs pretty strong! Do you have any sound clips of your car? I have been wondering how that cam sounds in a 440.
 
Stay,with the stock :bottom end. Trust, what you know.Ask questions,everywhere.
 
moturbopar said:
Nice car!! Runs pretty strong! Do you have any sound clips of your car? I have been wondering how that cam sounds in a 440.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
Here is a clip of it when I still had the rotted out glass packs on it, and echoing in the garage. Now I have Flomaster Super 44's on it and it sounds a lot better. I'll be loading it up on the trailer later this morning and can get another clip if you want to hear it.

[ame="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m109/slimsmagnum/VIDEO0007_zpscbf55f7c.mp4"]
th_VIDEO0007_zpscbf55f7c.jpg
[/ame]
 
Sounds like a really hot log truck. lol Slim, I'd say you have the perfect low buck 440.
 
In a way it makes me wish I had kept my bottom end stock!! Oh well. Nice times and god sound to your 440.
 
I think I'm going to keep the 73 bottom end, probably not even put rings in it. Going to throw the heads on, mill them a little more. Howards said they would grind me up a cam
specs are 230 at .050 int 238 exh 107lc 103Ic lift is .531 .547 said it should make a ton of low and mid range torque with a fair top end 2000-5800 rpm
pretty sure im going to keep the 3.55s in it for now. I got a quote back on a converter they recommended a 9.5in tight converter since I want to drive it on the street. Said it should stall between 3000 and 3300 depending on the torque I'm actually making. And its slightly cheaper than the one I listed above.
If this can't meet my goals, I do have a small 100 shot of nitrous I can use.
 
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