1967 Barracuda Slant Six to 440?

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bmxican

bmxican

Mopar Aficionado
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OK, so I have a '67 Barracuda, 9 inch drums all around and the gas mileage on my Slant isn't as good as I wish it could be. I figure if my gas mileage isn't great I might as well throw a V8 in it and have fun at the same time.

Anyway, for $400 bucks, my buddy will sell me a 440 engine and transmission out of a 70's motor home. Runs good. Tranny works.

What other mods would I have to do to my car?
I figured new rear end, front end parts and disc brakes. I know many of these parts are available from later year vehicles.

I have also seen tube chassis front end disc conversion kits with rack and pinions and things of the sort made by MP and other companies. Are these any good?

Thanks, any input is appreciated.
 
I plan to do much the same with my '68 Barracuda, except I will be going from a 318 to a 440. I have been asking numerous questions on this site and have gotten excellent responses. You might want to page through earlier posts and you will be surprised at the amount of info available. Many here have already done the same things to their cars.
 
my 69 dart has this swap.
it was an original 6cyl auto ps car...
it now has a 67 440, 727,disc brakes from a 73 duster, 8inch ford rear from a maverick.
(it bolts right in, it was super cheap at the pick a part, has the right bolt pattern,and i already had lots of parts for them from my dirt track cars)
i used the schumacher mounts and tti under chassis headers..i like the idea of a 1 7/8 primary ( or is it 2 inch??? i dont remember) to a 3 1/2 collector under chassis header,
but they are a pain in the a$$..
they drag all over the place especially on and off the trailer.. you cant get at the starter at all, there is not enough clearance on the flanges to clear head studs..and i cant get them to clear the steering linkage so it keeps rubbing enen though i shimmed the motor mounts up for clearance. and you need a mini starter. but my exhaust isnt hanging down the outside of the rails....
 
I need some pictures of the /6 to B/RB mounts. I bought a set "used" from someone and I'm not sure they're the right mounts.
 
check out schumachers web site for pics of the mounts. for a safe bb car, you should switch to big bolt patterns discs and v-8 t bars, an 8 1/4, 8 3/4, or dana 60 rear. its pretty much a straight foward swap, go to bigblockdart. com for al lthe info you could possibly need on this swap.
 
So, I ended up buying that 440 and trans. It's in my garage. I'm rebuilding the 440 this upcoming semester in my engine rebuild class at community college. I'll get to see if it really has 36,000 original miles on it. ;) Maybe it will have a mild cam since it was in a motorhome? It has a Thermaquad carb on it. I heard it run when it was still on the ground on blocks... =P~

Anyway, I was looking for some suggestions. I want to make this car a reliable street car that I can drive anywhere. Also, I would ocassionally like it to see the drag strip. So I would like it to go a bit, you know?

I have access to the engine machine shop of course, so money is pretty much the limiting factor. I'm not looking to spend 20g's unfortunately, I go to school full-time and just can't afford that.

What do you guys suggest? Bore over? Or should I just rebuild the motor and run it stock? Stock heads or aftermarket aluminum? Can I just do some head work at school to the stock iron heads to pump a few more hp out of them?

I was going to purchase Schumacher motor mounts, and their headers as well so I didn't have to deal with problems.

I know I need a rear-end, I was thinking 8 3/4 from an A-Body with 3.55" gears. What about leaf springs and shocks? Also, do I need to get tubs? I know I'll need new wheels. What would be a good size and wheel?

I already have '73 Dart BB spindles in my garage so I can run disc brakes up front. What about steering? Maybe I can install a rack and pinion type steering?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your time. Any suggestions are much much appreciated. Think about it like it's your car! :-D

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn265/evelbmxican/cuda2.jpg

PS: Any clues on a good source for sheet metal? I need quarters obviously...
 
LOL. Why did you need the carb so badly? Are thermaquads hard to find?
Wouldn't an aftermarket carb be more appealing? Just curious, trying to learn and such... Thanks!

PS: I just started ripping apart the motor today at school. It's going to be a long and fun semester! :D
 
Thermoquads from 440s are not easy to find. I probably should have grabbed the one I saw recently. I might go back and see if it's still there. It might make a good "parts" carb for my 79 Power Wagon if I ever get around to stroking the 360.
 
Jim Lusk said:
Thermoquads from 440s are not easy to find. I probably should have grabbed the one I saw recently. I might go back and see if it's still there. It might make a good "parts" carb for my 79 Power Wagon if I ever get around to stroking the 360.
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Are they taken off 440's and used on small blocks then?
Thanks! :-D
 
It really depends on your purpose. The 440 Thermoquad is a huge carb, but a lot of people don't like them because they can be temperamental. When right they are very good, though.
 
What does the transmission look like? The tailshaft specifically? A few motorhomes had "normal" truck 727s with the HD tailshaft housing. The one where the access port for the retaining clip is on the side, rather than the bottom of the tailhousing casting. That housing won't fit in A bodies. The bigger Class A motorhomes have the parking brake (drum assembly) as part of the tail shaft. That whole mainshaft and tail housing is un-usable to you too.
 
Jim Lusk said:
It really depends on your purpose. The 440 Thermoquad is a huge carb, but a lot of people don't like them because they can be temperamental. When right they are very good, though.
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Cool, thanks! I'll keep it for the time being since I'm broke. Maybe when I sell of my SL6 parts will I be able to afford some goodies.

moper said:
What does the transmission look like? The tailshaft specifically? A few motorhomes had "normal" truck 727s with the HD tailshaft housing. The one where the access port for the retaining clip is on the side, rather than the bottom of the tailhousing casting. That housing won't fit in A bodies. The bigger Class A motorhomes have the parking brake (drum assembly) as part of the tail shaft. That whole mainshaft and tail housing is un-usable to you too.
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The transmission looks like a regular 727, but I'm no expert. Definetly no drum assembly on the tail housing. The motorhome looked like a Dodge van with a "home area" attached to it. I'll take some pictures... thanks!
 
Here are some pictures of the internals of the 440. I have been measuring all the journals (main and rod) and they ALL seem to be 0.010" under. All the bearings I pulled out had a 0.010" stamped on them. So I figure I need 0.010" over bearings. But my block had no maltese cross stamping on it, which I read indicates a 0.010" over block. It certainly did have 30,000 miles on it, as it had literally no wear. I know it was never rebuilt before either. Strange.... the casting on the block is 3698830.

Also, how do I figure out what type of crank and cam this is?

DSC01838.jpg


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My heads also have different numbers on them:

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I plan on re-using my crankshaft and rotating assembly but I'm replacing the cam. I'm also keeping the heads and getting stainless steel valves for the exhaust.

Any suggestions or comments? Thanks!
 
that looks like a cast crank, was the harmonic balancer thick? if it was then its a cast iron crank

whatever it is, your lucky because the crankshaft is drilled for a manual trans
 
RPMmachine said:
that looks like a cast crank, was the harmonic balancer thick? if it was then its a cast iron crank

whatever it is, your lucky because the crankshaft is drilled for a manual trans
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The harmonic balancer was pretty thick and heavy. About 1 1/2" thick. Thanks!
 
THAT is a forged crank! The cam could possibly be a 440 hp but I would get a bigger cam if you can afford it.With the crank turned 0.10 and no markings on the id pad leads me to believe thet the engine has been apart so I would check out the bore size and condition.You just might be able to re ring it and save some dough.My first 440 a body was a 71 duster.It had a re rung 440 with ported 516 heads and a 528 Mopar solid lifter cam.It was a 4speed with a 3.91 8 3/4 suregrip.On it's first trip to the drag strip it went 11.91@115 and that's on a 9x28 drag tire! Oh yeah it killed the 3.91 gear first round and shortly after it got a Dana 60!
 
68383valiant said:
THAT is a forged crank! The cam could possibly be a 440 hp but I would get a bigger cam if you can afford it.With the crank turned 0.10 and no markings on the id pad leads me to believe thet the engine has been apart so I would check out the bore size and condition.You just might be able to re ring it and save some dough.My first 440 a body was a 71 duster.It had a re rung 440 with ported 516 heads and a 528 Mopar solid lifter cam.It was a 4speed with a 3.91 8 3/4 suregrip.On it's first trip to the drag strip it went 11.91@115 and that's on a 9x28 drag tire! Oh yeah it killed the 3.91 gear first round and shortly after it got a Dana 60!
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Nice! I'm almost done with my rebuild now, just waiting on parts. I found marking on the crankshaft counterweight that read "M" and "R" followed by "010". Main and rods 0.010" under. Whatever the crank is, it's good for what I'm using it for. I got a mild cam, just re-ringing and running it.

I want to slowly add parts like an aluminum water pump and housing, aluminum heads, aluminum intake, different carb, etc. Just need money... :)

I have a 8 3/4 with 3.23" open. Should be fine for now.
 
bmxican, I do not want to rain on your parade at all because you are undertaking quite a large project as a student. My one suggestion is to not take your car out of commission until you figure out what you need and have all the conversion pieces (ie. engine, trans, driveshaft, rearend/rear suspension, front suspension, mounts, wiring, linkages, exhaust, cooling, fuel system, etc.) ready to go. Most of the aforementioned subassemblies are projects all their own. I mention this so that you have something to drive around in while you are getting all this together.
 
GTXperience said:
bmxican, I do not want to rain on your parade at all because you are undertaking quite a large project as a student. My one suggestion is to not take your car out of commission until you figure out what you need and have all the conversion pieces (ie. engine, trans, driveshaft, rearend/rear suspension, front suspension, mounts, wiring, linkages, exhaust, cooling, fuel system, etc.) ready to go. Most of the aforementioned subassemblies are projects all their own. I mention this so that you have something to drive around in while you are getting all this together.
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Definetly not. I haven't taken my car apart at all yet. I've been doing body work to it, just got done patching some rust at the rockers, fenders and replaced the quarter panels.

I drive my car daily. I still have a good amount of parts I need before I can drop the 440 into the Barracuda.

I do have a 72 Scamp SL6 that will be my daily driver once the Barracuda is out of comission for a little while...

Thanks! :D
 
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