440 vs. stroker 408 build?

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stroker mike

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I can get a 1977 440 with a 727 for 190 bucks, it came out of a totalled imperial, it has been outside in the rain since last summer, but was never rebuilt, and it was running when the car was wrecked, so, short of disassembling the motor in the yard where it is at, I don't know if it is a good deal. it has rust, obviously, but would this be a decent deal? the guy has another one as well, but of unknown origin or history, they are at a wrecking yard. I thought that this might be a cost effective way to get the power and torque I want without incurring the cost of building a stroker... fitting it in a swinger will not be easy, but with a hughes muscle car cam and a dual plain, a bore/flux job, 9:1's, and a valve job I should be able to fry the rubber right off those steelie's, right? yet perfectly streetable for alot less than a stroker build, I think, and 440's weigh in the same approx as a 383, right? so the pro's and con's are best gleaned from those who know...can anyone help me here? I want to put it in a 74 swinger. rb motor swap mounts cost same as la ones do, so I can't think of a good reason why an rb conversion wouldn't be a less expensive and very effective way to find four hundred horses under the hood of my dart!
 
The weight difference between a 408 (small block) and a 440 (big block) is great enough to where you may want to change your front suspension to accomodate the additional weight. If you choose to go that route, the cost savings would be minimal at best... possibly even more costly.

But if you want to go fast in a straight line, and not too worried about handling, the 440 is an option. (as is a 426, a 400 or a 383) Don't forget that you may have to do a lot of cutting to fit the big block in there... depending on what accessories and type of exhaust you are planning to run on the car.
 
I do not believe there will be a problem with the '74 swinger in the engine swap. Earlier A bodies have the smaller engine compartment.
Handling aside, the 440 is the way to go for brute torque and easy HP to weight ratio in the favor of smoking tires and quick times.

Your right, it is the easy way to add mega power under the hood. The 440 weighs in a bit more than the 383 - 400 because of the extra height of the engine. With aluminum parts and headers, the weight drops alot and down to a much better level to deal with. Aluminum heads would be even better, but do cost additional cash that could be useful elsewhere.......for now. (?)

Do not exceed 9.5-1 comp. ratio with the open chamber heads. Reason being is a set of closed chambers or milled iron heads will raise it and pump gas could be a pain to run. Closed aluminum heads would be fine.

Even a mild build of 1 hp per cube would be great. The car will be a ton of fun with all the torque the 440 makes.
 
rumblefish360 said:
. The car will be a ton of fun with all the torque the 440 makes.
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JMO a 408 in an A-body will be more than a ton of fun too - and a lot less hassle - but what do us SB guys know anyway. :toothy7:
 
He he he, small block fella here too. But if a 440 with a cheap rebuild is not a cost effective way to go over a stroker rotating assembly, let me here about it now.
This is a /6 conversion, so many of the extra parts going into the build will be the same upgrading parts anyway. His biggest extra expenditure is shortening the drive shaft due to the 727.

Everything else on the car is basicly going to need an upgrade be it s/b or r/b.
On my /6 to s/b swap, the 9 inch drums are NOT recomended for the car. Yikes!!!!
 
small blocks have been known to be knockin' the snot out of these BBs man...I think i would go with a SB..bc ou save weight too..but it's all about personal choice
 
Rumble; You make a great point with the expenditures needed to upgrade the rest of the car from /6 status to sb stroker or 440. I guess I suffer from tunnel vision, for the past 6 years I had in my mind why would anyone do a big block A body with the handling and tight fit issues when the stroker thing is available now. Your logic makes sense in this case.
 
:burnout: I called mopar engines west and they said 3500 -5000 to build me a 440 out of my core, and victory machine gave a similar bid. Holy smog pumps, batman! I will have the block mag'd and cleaned for 350, a bore and possibly line bore if neccesary,at whatever the rate will be, and assemble it myself! I will order some 906's from aero heads, and a spring/cam/lifter kit from hughes. stock crank, rod's, and I'll hunt down some hypertectic .030 dishes, speed pro,or kb, find a good sale, know what I mean? there has to be a way to get'r'done and done well without slapping down 5000. 440 source has some ripper deals, and of course, craigslist. I'll find a rpm manifold, or weiand stealth, for a song online, I'll have to be patient and creative and strike a deal like a loan officer, but I know I can build a 440, with my blue printing books and some friends to guide me.... :yawinkle:
 
There's a big difference between "refreshing", "rebuilding", and "performance rebuilding". As long as you realize what you give up by spending less, it's no big deal. Wahtever works for you is what counts. The last "refresh" I did was about $900, but it didnt include replacement heads. Just oil pump, pickup, rings, bearings, gaskets, windage tray, cam, lifters, timing set, water pump, fuel pump, fuel pump pushrod, and carb. Make sure you either use a crank kit (crank and bearings) or have the crank turned and polished with new bearings. The kit's probably cheaper.
 
408, When you get right down to it, it really is what ever YOU want and what your doing with the car. Things like leaving in the /6 T-bars is OK for a street s/b , buuuuut probably not to cool for a all iron rb. Though it will be great fro weight transfer at the track. And or what your shooting for, it really is a cross between what the wallet has and what you want to do with it.

It's all, "Combo dependent."
(I think this is becoming my favorite saying as of late)

You can for shurly get a decent power plant from a mild 440 build.
Torque Torque Torque Torque Torque Torque Torque LOL.
 
my intent is to refresh/rebuild, gonna go with a kit from summit, aprox. 700 bucks, hughes cam, and some 906's from aeroheads at worst. Can't do 1977 smog heads, I think it's against my religion or something. been thinking about eddies, 1300 bucks, to save weight, but rumblefish is right about the ol' wallet. t-bars aren't really that pricey, all things considered. but a 9.25:1 or so 440 with a muscle car cam will be a real nice thing to be in when you press the pedal on the right. It all comes down to TIME. That will be the primary factor for me, it will all happen in time.
 
Rumble, 6 years ago I had bought a 440 core to build and put in the Duster. I was that close...but some issue of Mopar Muscle had the article about the stroker 360 kit from Muscle Motors, the intrigue began. The 440 is still sitting in the garage and the "stinkin small block" (as my big block buddies say) is going strong. Iam with you, its all what you want and $ you have available at the time.
 
I got the new issue of engine masters and on the editors page in front that guy is sitting there with his hand on his chin looking at a 440 builder, the article is called thinking about the build....in that issue there are some magnum 360 mods that made real horses without insane expense either, so I enjoyed reading the article, but I can't help but remeber the feeling when you walk down a row of a-bodies and you see a few 318's, a few 340's (nice resto, man) a few pumped 360's and a couple s/b strokers (i bet that thing is quick!) and ooooh, hold on, this one has a big block! Oh, my gosh, how'd you fit that in there? It is a whole different type of impact, instantly taken at a very serious level, a 440 swinger even with a mild rebuild demands a whole different brand of respect, and then what if you were to stroke THAT? Shudder to think!! :salute: Now that is awesome. My ol' coronet 440 had a small block and it was the quickest car I have ever built, but there's a 440 cuda from fremont that smoked me like a salmon :cussing: and I've had it in the back of my mind ever since.
 
Then if thats the goal, go for it. The only thing really stopping you is the amount of cash in the wallet.

On the cheap, a set of KB pistons or equal to raise the comp. ratio, then balance it all up.
 
a 440 and 727 for $190 is a steal..


putting a 440 into a 74 swinger is cake.. basically a bolt in deal.. the biggest decision is on the headders. some can be expensive. some go through the fenderwells . from the sounds of what you want out of it the schumachers sound good. they are a tri-Y that fit very well with a 440...

if your really worried about the wieght then put a set of eddy heads and an alumn intake ,water pump and housing on it that will take allot of weight off.... if you go with the stock heads just put heavier torsion bars in it and it will handle fine.. that big block darts don't handle except in a straight line os an old myth....

there is nothing like a big block dart.. i say do the 440 and forget about it...

i'm running a decent little 360. nothing crazy. it has gone a 12.27 in the quarter which is cool but it just doesn't compare to the 440 a-bodies i have had in the past....
 
The 440 really isn't that hard to put in the A-body. I will agree that the 408 and 416 smallblock strokers scream. But it wont take much to get a 440 A-body in the 11's or 10's for that fact. We still have the stock 318 torsion bars on my boys 72 Dart with a 400 in it. I figured we took the ac off and the cast iron intake is gone for an aluminum one and we have lighter headers so it really is not adding that much more weight and my sons handles fine. His car has had the 383 or 400 in it since 1997. His 400 is nothing fancy and has pushed his 3540 lb dart (with him in car) to 11.50's with 3.91's so a 10 second 440 street Dart is not hard to do. Good luck , Ron
 
abodyjoe said:
a 440 and 727 for $190 is a steal..

putting a 440 into a 74 swinger is cake.. basically a bolt in deal.. the biggest decision is on the headders. some can be expensive. some go through the fenderwells . from the sounds of what you want out of it the schumachers sound good. they are a tri-Y that fit very well with a 440...

if your really worried about the wieght then put a set of eddy heads and an alumn intake ,water pump and housing on it that will take allot of weight off.... if you go with the stock heads just put heavier torsion bars in it and it will handle fine.. that big block darts don't handle except in a straight line os an old myth...
there is nothing like a big block dart.. i say do the 440 and forget about it...
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This is the receipe I would follow, you have less weight than a small block if go with the edel heads and alminum intake. & alum waterpump. Biggest bang for the buck!
And what looks cooler than a RB in an A body!
 
Keith Mopar said:
This is the receipe I would follow, you have less weight than a small block if go with the edel heads and alminum intake. & alum waterpump. Biggest bang for the buck!
And what looks cooler than a RB in an A body!
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Well... a Hemi would be cooler!
 
I would give my upper teeth and live on marshmallows to put an elephant in my dart! yeah, thats a wee bit out of my budget...
 
Build the stroker with Edelbrock heads,and you'll be save another 50 lbs,then laugh at big blocks even more... :toothy7:
 
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