440 build working with what I’ve got

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HotrodColt

HotrodColt

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I’ve got a block bored +.060, stock rods and crank, forged 7025P TRW pistons, stock 906 heads with upgraded springs and crane 1.5 roller rockers, .590 purple cam, stock iron intake part #2806178, topping with an 850dp Holley. Hardly have cash for the bearings at gaskets so buying other big parts for it right now is not an option and I don’t mind rebuilding it later when money is more available. Anyone currently running this combo or something really close? If so how does it run?
 
That intake won't work well with that big cam. And what converter and gears you got for this?

What are these pistons? What compression ratio will it have? Do you know the compression height?

Hardly have cash, how will you afford the fuel?
 
413 said:
That intake won't work well with that big cam. And what converter and gears you got for this?

What are these pistons? What compression ratio will it have? Do you know the compression height?

Hardly have cash, how will you afford the fuel?
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Should be about 10.3:1 compression ratio, converter is a 3000 stall, 4.11 gears. I can grab a couple gallons of gas here and there, just trying to make the point that coming by an extra $300+ for a new intake or more for a set of aluminum heads isn’t in the budget at the moment. Trying to work with what I’ve got. I do have an edelbrock dual plane for a 383-400 that is up for trade if someone has a 440 intake that they want to swap.
 
Its a 440 It will probably be a hand full in a light car with street tires. What do you plan on doing with it? Put your money you get into making it safe . Then dial the engine in .
 
Sell that cam, you don't have enough converter for it. That cam doesn't like to putter around on the street.
 
while you've got a bit of converter and gear, that cam is just a terrible match for the stock heads and intake. also, i'm not sure how big you can go with a cam on stock heads before you start running into clearance issues and coil bind (i'd probably start checking guide/retainer clearance above 480)-- although this may be a non-issue if you've had the machine work done already.

if i was building on a beer budget, i'd probably try and flip the script on this one. adios the cam, ditch the 850DP for something a little more mellow, and see if i can turn that B manifold into an RB manifold via subliminal manifestation. big cams and DP's make for good trade fodder.

with a light car on the street, i'd go a little more subdued: smaller cam, dual plane of some type, 750(ish) vac 2ndary (or TQ/QJ twins). something like that would absolutely rip, and with the pieces you have, i'm sure you could horse trade your way to a better combo of parts.

if you wanted to spend as little money as possible, you could just stay with the stock intake, port the heads at home, and then stab in like an HP cam or a melling or summit white box. use the sale of the other parts to finance out the cam upgrade.
 
If the pistons don’t have valve pockets(and I doubt they do), you better make sure you have adequate valve to piston clearance.

I’ll reiterate the need for making sure the heads are properLy set up for a cam that size, or you could easily become another victim of flat cam syndrome.
 
PRH said:
If the pistons don’t have valve pockets(and I doubt they do), you better make sure you have adequate valve to piston clearance.

I’ll reiterate the need for making sure the heads are properLy set up for a cam that size, or you could easily become another victim of flat cam syndrome.
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They do have relief for the valves

IMG_3795.jpeg
 
This warning about excessive cam duration in a 440 should be noted....

img282.jpg
 
.590 cam is a beast. I made 643 HP in a 505 with Trick Flow heads. too much for your setup. Try the .528 you'll be much happier
 
1968rt said:
.590 cam is a beast. I made 643 HP in a 505 with Trick Flow heads. too much for your setup. Try the .528 you'll be much happier
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Thanks, I’m at a stand still at the moment on this project, the dome pistons I have are going to push my compression up higher than I’d like, I have a set of flat tops but they are not in good shape and are lighter than the dome pistons, which I’m afraid will throw the balance off to the point of having to send out the whole rotating assembly to be rebalanced and if I stuck with the .590 cam I’m having a hard time coming up with a torque converter to run it. Considering trading the cam and maybe more of what i have to just get a decent set up and put a smaller cam in to get it running sooner, however not too many big block mopar guys around me that are willing to trade stuff.
 
I hope you have a few carbide bits and sandpaper rolls to open up the shrouding on the heads it’s free hp and it will help that cam make what it should. Dig up all the change you can and look for a good old single plane intake. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to screw the thing together and spend a few months coming up with a few bucks on the rest of what you need…
 
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I agree you should not use that .590 cam, but i would keep the 850dp. Every 440 ive had liked that carb, stock or not.
 
Here’s my low compression 9.5-1 440 that pumped out 525hp and 545tq and it’s stock enough that you could change the cam and valve springs then install it in a motor home.
I built it back in the mid eighties and followed the Mopar engine book. So it has the 1.81/2.14” valves, I did the pocket port on the heads along with cutting them to 80cc for a true 9.5 cr.
Pistons are heavy forged TRWs. And if I remember correctly it has a .557 lift mechanical purple shaft. So you don’t need to spend big money on parts to make decent power you just need to make sure all the parts work together.

IMG_0274.jpeg
 
UPDATE:
I have been able to upgrade to a set of ported 906 heads with oversized valves, shaved .020, swapped the stock iron intake for an edelbrock dual plane at the moment, may keep trying to trade that up to a single plane and have acquired bearings. Should I order some thicker head gaskets to ease the compression a little bit, I don’t mind burning premium but I’d rather not have to buy race gas. It’s slowly coming together! Thank you to everyone that has helped so far! I’ll be getting with Killerslant soon to do some more swapping and see what we can figure out!
 
That Edelbrock dual plane will work much better than the OEM iron intake. Ideally I would put a Performer RPM on it it rather than a single plane.

Tom
 
HotrodColt said:
UPDATE:
I have been able to upgrade to a set of ported 906 heads with oversized valves, shaved .020, swapped the stock iron intake for an edelbrock dual plane at the moment, may keep trying to trade that up to a single plane and have acquired bearings. Should I order some thicker head gaskets to ease the compression a little bit, I don’t mind burning premium but I’d rather not have to buy race gas. It’s slowly coming together! Thank you to everyone that has helped so far! I’ll be getting with Killerslant soon to do some more swapping and see what we can figure out!
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Do you know what the compression height is on those pistons ?
Should be 2.029
If you have a .060 thick gasket you'll be 10.50ish compression. That's assuming the heads are now 84 cc chambers
 
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