Sb/bb?

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hotrodder

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All right yall,
Here's my question, would you go SB or would ya go BB?
'70 Duster 340 originaly, now nothing but a rolling body. Originaly an auto. The car will be more of a street car. If I run a SB, I think I'm gonna lean toward a Comp Cams Thumpr series cam. :evil2: If BB, then it's open for discussion. I am far away from even getting a motor, but I would like to make up my mind so that way, when I jump on the front suspension, I know in what direction I am going to want to go. With a BB it needs to be more of a heavier duty front end, versus SB which doesn't way near as much, and doesn't have to be such heavy duty. Anyway, I will probably do a SB stroker, or a regular BB. Since the car doesn't weigh all that much at all, I want need massive amount of torque, versus my '72 Charger SE..... If I go SB, I may do a 360 block based stroker. I would rather go with a 340, but..... Trying to find one in good shape.... well... Yeah sure. 318 is nice, but that old quote "There's no replacement for displacement" comes into play. If I were building a strip only car, then BB would be no question. I like the idea of a BB Duster, but what would be more economical? The SB, or the BB? Anyway, I look forward to reading everyone's opinion on this matter. Also, as stated before, I plan on going to a tubular front end for more clearance, so headers and oil pan selection will be more of an endless matter, except for the BB.... Anyway, if there are any questions, please let me know.:rock:
 
Man there are going to be many opinions on this!

But a stroker 360 is the best all around bang or the buck, less weight, will drive good on the street and handle good. But if you use the better stroker parts like forged crank etc. you will still have 6-7k in the engine, then you need to figure out which trans and type, there is another $1k-$2k+ convertor.

Rear end, well and 8 3/4 I would think is in the car will take either SB or BB on the street just may need gears posi unit etc re-worked. Also go with a larger drive shaft and large u-jointsgood investment.

On the big block you will be OK too but I would do stiffing plates and heaver T bars up front, which you may want on a SB too.

Also what about brakes on the car to stop this thing? minimum early A 4 piston front disk and 10" rear drums or go with a 73-76 A body setup for sure if it is a BB! They are heavier and the upper arms and ball joints are stonger too. But you mentioned tubular so I guess Wilwood brakes???

Either way they both run great and I know a few guys that have BB cars that handle and stot great too.

Well thats about $20k work of stuff if you do it up 500-600HP and al lthe bes parts, radiator etc...


A factory 340 back to bone stock would be great if it is to be a numbers matching car BIG $$$s!

Take your time, plan it out by the time you want to take to complete and how much you want to invest in money in the car!


PS I would do a stroker 360 for the street much easier few less $$$..
:rock:
 
:toothy3: Assuming you're like most of us here, you're gonna play around with this thing, break parts and throw more money into it even when it's done. Given that fact, I'd go big-block. Why? parts availibility,durability and general longevity. Everyone knows the more you build something, the more costly & finicky it becomes. You could build a 500-550hp big-block easily,,using conventional parts and not wind it as tight as a small-block so it'd (theoretically) live longer and if (when) it blows, parts won't ost you an arm & a leg. Now don't get me wrong--stroker small-blocks are cool and you CAN build a good size one. But in doing so you're still stuck with a size limitation, specialty parts, and having to wind it tighter than a big-block to achieve the same result. And remember--on the street torque is more important than raw horsepower and the fact of the matter is big-blocks make more torque than a small-block..----THERE! THAT SHOULD start the arguments! :happy1::evil4:
 
umm...I flipped a coin and...S/B it is. Really there is no bad choice here...cost isnt going to be a dealer killer either I wouldnt think but if it came down to that I guess S/B would win out. I guess I may be partial to S/B's though since I run a 340 and love it. Everyone thinks it's a 440 at the stoplight and cant believe it when I tell them it's a 340.
 
I'm kind of with Beatnik here on this one.
There is no bad choice. It's all ready set up for a small block. And your good to go on astroker.
Stoking a small block as not strokin a big block, or is that strokin a big block. Hummm, more inchs! In a lite car. (Mau ha ha ha ha ha)

You can get the B/B weight down preety good.
 
I have a real nice 383 BIG BLOCK ENGINE for $2700 that would be great in your Mopar!

Completely Rebuild Last Fall With All New Mopar Performance Parts!
This is the good 1967 block, heads and forged crank.
All parts are NEW and purchased through Mopar performance (Forged Rod, Forged Pistons, New 509 Hyd Cam, Heads Have NEW Seats / Valves / Springs / Keepers / Etc., NEW Dual Roller Timing Set and Fluid Filled Balancer)

If you have an interest please feel free to e-mail or call me.
York, PA 17403
kerpre@hotmail.com
717-515-7231

IMG_0165.jpg
 
Go big smallblock!!! as in stroker,i'm glad i did and its SOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun beating up on big blocks and some hemis with it:):):)
 
when i was a child i thought childish thoughts, when i grew to be a man i gave up childish thoughts and bought a big block!!!!!

















and just in case you guys take it wrong this is all in fun
 
I have a 360, so I really like the smallblock choice(it sure rev's nice). But when I blow up this engine, I really want to put in a BB. I already have an extra one taking up space that would fit nice, so thats my future plan. I have no idea how it will handle with a BB in my Duster, but I do know its a big engine with lots a torque in a small mopar. To me, that would put a BIG smile on my face.

I think with the tubular K-Frame/suspension route that you mentioned, a BB would handle pretty good (and the right torsion bars). I guess on the downside, plugs are easier to change on a SB, but the oil filter is easier (at least for me) to change on a BB. A 383/400 is going to fit the best of the BB engines, and it is 65lbs lighter than a 440. Whatever you choose, its going to be fun!
 
Big Block A Bodies Are Nutts On The Street I Drive One Every Weekend An Its A Blast An All The Olds Guys Around Town Shake There Heads,an Say Im Crazy For Stuffin It In There!
 
My initial opinion was go with a small block, better for daily driver use, but a big block would be pretty awesome........... I have never driven a big block Duster so I don't really know if it makes a lot of difference as far as the handling of the car feels. I have always heard that small block cars handle better....... Yeah, I still say go with a small block if nothing else because the car is already set up for it, and a stroker will give you plenty of power for the street. If you want to go racing then maybe it would be different.
 
Yeah, I still say go with a small block if nothing else because the car is already set up for it, and a stroker will give you plenty of power for the street. If you want to go racing then maybe it would be different.
Click to expand...

Hows that?? i race my 416 a lot,and its running the same if not better numbers then the guys i see with big blocks...:):)
 
There is only one way to have the best of both worlds, lighter weight smaller motor for handling and easy to do tune ups like a small block and lots of torgue and power like a big block... big inch small block.



Chuck
 
big inch sb are cool but i got a nice 500" kit in my room for the 440!now thats gonna be BAD!!!!!
 
Ok, I made a call to a junk yard about a 360. The guy said that they have a few, may have some all ready pulled, he said for one that needs a rebuild, apparently complete motor for $125. So.... I can get a rebuilt 440 for $500 from the guy who i got my Charger from. Course, if I got that 440, it would go in the Charger though, so..... But he's also got that 400, but I have no idea what condition the block is in, it's sat out in the weather for I don't know how many years, and the heads appear to be shot, but it's a '76 truck motor that had/has a manual behind it. Then there's the 383 that's in the Charger now that's pretty much going to get replaced one way or another....
But I'm still undecided about the SB/BB issue with the Duster. Each has it's ups and downs. This car will go to the strip every once in a while, but more than likely will be more street than anything.
I'm thinking of taking the car over to the local land fill..... yeah yeah yeah, I know.... I'm not droping the car off, so relax... They have a big in ground scale to weigh in incoming shipments of trash.... Anyway, I'm thinking about possibly talking the operator, older lady, into letting my, and a buddy to make things faster, push the Duster off a trailer and onto the scale and see what it's curent weight is, minus the parts that are just sitting in it....
The reason I kind of need to make a desicion is so I know what to look into as far as suspension. With the BB, it has got to be heavier duty b/c of the extra weight, course, when you hammer it, it's not really all that heavy then, esp when it's tying to pick the car up, lol. Then the SB doesn't weigh as much, but I've seen some really nice SB strokers. Now, BB you can get the weight down with things like aluminum heads/intake, ect... But, if you put the same stuff (as far as aluminum parts) on a SB, you can get the same results. Now on the other hand, I know a lot more about BB than SB. Every Mopar, except for the Dakota I had, has been BB cars, or, in the Dusters case, no motor at all.....
My '69 Charger R/T had a 440, it's twin the R/T SE had a 440 (both cars gone now :sad9:), and my current '72 Charger SE with 383.... Now, here's the thing, I like the rumble of the BB. I like the torque of the BB. Some people seem to respect a BB a little more, but different people, different opinions. Now, power to weight ratios play a factor, and that's one point I'm getting at. In a smaller car, a SB would seem to do a little different, but I've seen 440 Dusters run, and man.... But I've seen SB strokers run, and man at them too.... Jeeze, desicions desicions..... :twisted:
If I can build a SB stroker cheaper than a BB, then I may go that route, after all, my second goal for this car was to sell it b/c I dropped my original goal, which was to stuff one mean big BB stroker in it, cut the back, tub and 4 link it, ect. It was going to be a strip only car, heck the guy I got the car from didn't even know the year of it, but when I read the vin, I saw the 0, and said it was a '70 and not a '72, or did he say '73/'74, I can't remember.... I'm not planning on cutting the car, except to fix the rust areas like around the wheel well. I want to replace the hood and possibly put a six pack style hood on it, can be a fiberglass piece. The K member will more than likely be upgraded to a tubular design for better handling and such. I like the one Magnumforce carries, but that will also have to come a little later on, like after the body work. I will probably run a fuel cell, I don't know for sure right now though, along with electric fuel pump, and stainless braided hoses, ect. Brakes, front minimum 4 piston, 6 max. Ect ect ect. But back to this topic thread, BB/SB, yet undecided, still trying to weigh out the different stuff between them as far as weight, power, price, ect.
 
TheWhiteZombie, thanks for the links, right now I'm checking up on my links and such, but gonna be heading on to bed shortly, just got in from work, so... Anyway, when I get up, I'll check them out a little bit more, I browsed them a little bit, so.... Once again, thanks for the links.
 
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