Bunch of Noob question from a Dutchman

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arnie_human

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Hi guys just started this week with pulling out the slant 6 out of my 74 Dart. And now I`m piecing together al the parts I need for the 440 to fit in there.
I allready got headers and Schumacher mounts. Anything else I wille defenitly need ??
And I got a 440 out of a chrysler with casting number 3698830, but are all the 440 engines the same from 65-80 ? Because I need some parts like gaskets and bigger cam etc but how do I now that I`m ordering the correct parts ?? Because there are a lot of options to choose from. I also need another intake and carb.

gr Arnoud
 
all the parts will interchange. cam lift and duration will depend on the year of the motor on how big you can go unless you put pistons in with valve reliefs or have your cut.
 
You'll need a center sump oil pan to clear steering linkage. Look on the block on the passenger side there will be a date of manufacture. As far as the differences go there are lots, there is high compression, low compression, open chamber heads, closed chamber heads, cast cranks and forged cranks just to name a few. The date of manufacture should help determine what you have. Get your self an FSM and the Mopar Engine Book.
 
Ok this is what is stanced on the side of the block : 3698830-440-10 and below that : 9-13-72
Will a 7 quart centre sump fit my A body ??
 
9=month. 13=day. 72=year. If it is stock, it will be a lower compression 440, and should be a forged crank engine, which is good. If it is stock, it will have open chamber cylinder heads, probably 346's to take a guess. The heads will have a long part number cast under the valve covers. The last 3 digits indicate what head you have. All the open chamber heads are similar, so it doesn't really matter.

If you are going to retain the stock pistons, you won't have a lot of compression, so I would recommend keeping the cam small, and using a dual plane intake like an Edelbrock Performer, or Performer RPM. I like the RPM personally. A 750-850 cfm carb will do nicely.

Your rear axle will need upgrading for sure. Have fun.
 
Years ago we rebuilt a stock 73 Chrysler 440 reusing pistons since everything was still standard sizes only upgrading the cam and dropped it in my 69 Charger. Ran quite well; in fact, my wife said it was the fastest car she'd ever drove!

I see you're from the Netherlands. My oldest son lives in Hoofdorpp and works at Schiphol as an aircraft technician. We've visited several times and had some great times.
 
Thanks guys for all the info. After speaking with some Mopar lovers here I think that I will be upgrading the internal engine parts aswell. But what will be the best way to up the Compression and with what kind of cam and intake will that work the best ??

gr Arnoud
ps I`m flying to Greece tonight for 2 weeks, to help there Economy ;). So will not be able to post a reply for the next two weeks. But every advice will be read. thanks again
 
arnie_human said:
Thanks guys for all the info. After speaking with some Mopar lovers here I think that I will be upgrading the internal engine parts aswell. But what will be the best way to up the Compression and with what kind of cam and intake will that work the best ??

gr Arnoud
ps I`m flying to Greece tonight for 2 weeks, to help there Economy ;). So will not be able to post a reply for the next two weeks. But every advice will be read. thanks again
Click to expand...

We don't really know what the end use of the car will be, so it is hard to give advice, There is a big difference between a highway cruiser or a drag race bruiser. A piston swap will be the best way to up your compression, and it's not that hard to get a 440 into the 9-9.5 comp range with inexpensive pistons.

If this is to be a dual purpose car, I could suggest getting the compression up, go through heads to make sure the guides are good and the valves are sealing, run a .480" to maybe .525" lift cam, a Performer RPM intake and a 750-850 cfm carb, headers and good exhaust. Converter and gears will be determined by street usage and cam size. This should get you around 450 HP, and a bunch of torque without having to rev to the moon. Cheap combo too. It is easy to upgrade from here, but it will cost you.
 
Well the car is going to be used as a cruiser. Not a dragstrip car. But I do want some grunt at the stoplights if you know what I mean.

Which degree of cam should I use to keep it a car with good drivability but lots of torque and power in the lower refs ? And which pistons are good value for money ? And do they always have to be zero decked ?

Gr Arnoud
 
If it is primarily a cruiser, keeping it around 230 degrees (@.050" valve lift), will still give a little rumble to the exhaust, but should still make good power into the 5,000ish rpm range. I did a 440 with the MP .484 hydraulic cam, and that has about 10 more degrees. It worked fine with 3.23 rear gears, but it had a 3,500 rpm stall, which may be looser than you want for a cruiser. That car ran low 12's shifting around 5,000 rpms.

For pistons, a factory type replacement piston for one of the earlier, higher compression engines will be fine in my opinion for a lower revving cruiser. No need for expensive pistons. You can get 9.5 -10 to 1 compression in a 440 with the pistons well below the deck surface.
 
POk will it also work good with the original stall converter ? And i recdently bought a chrysler 8.75 rear axle. What will work with the standard gears that are stil in there ?
And what are the consequences of keeping the original stall and rear axle, but still getting a higher compression and different cam etc like you earlier mensioned ?

Gr Arnoud
 
The stock stall changes my cam pick a bit. The stock stall in those big passenger cars was a low stall unit, and that coupled with a too large cam can make for a dog off the line. If you are definitly keeping the low stall, I could recommend the factory 440 magnum grind cam. It works well. As far as the 8-3/4" rear, it could have any gears from 2.76 to 4.10's or even lower in stock form, depending on what it came out of. If the tag on the rear is missing, you will have to manually check the ratio. For a street cruiser with the stock stall, I would look for 3.23's or 3.55's.
 
Ok thanks BBBCUDA but I decided to go for another stall as wel.
So would a edelbrock performer 7193 with a 750 cfm carb and a cam with 213/226 @.050 work wel ?? and with which stall ?? a 2400-2600 ?? This of course in combination with the higher compression pistons.
And which pistons are commenly used ?? Which ones would you recommend ??

gr Arnoud
 
The regular Performer is a good intake, but I consider it basically a stock replacement. I think I remember dyno tests, and it only picked up a few HP over stock. It does shave some weight though. The 750 Cfm carb size is good, given the higher gears and lower stall you will be running. If you go to a 24-2600 rpm stall, I would personally up the cam into the 230ish @.050" range. The duration of the cam you list is very low, it must be more of an Rv/truck grind. I have a very small cam in my 383, and it is 224/234 degrees, and you barely notice it at idle.

Unless you want to spend more money, I being a cheapskate would just try to find a stock cast replacement piston for the late 60's engines. One of the Hypereutectics wouldn't break the bank either. At the lower rpms you will be turning, I don't see the benefit of an expensive piston. I think you will end up in the 9 to 1 compression range utilizing the earlier piston with your open chamber cylinder heads, which will work well on pump gas.
 
very nice cam specs you picked out. that will give you good horse power when you want it. pick a piston (i used kb hypers) and get it as close to 10-1 as you can but not over, it will end up being a dome type piston. you'll have to use premium gas but you'll be very happy with the results.
 
Great cam pick in my opinion. It won't require a lot of spring pressure, and will be easy on valve train parts.
 
Ok this type of cam is the one that I will purchase then. And what do you mean whit dome pistons Bob ?? Is that the slight bulge or hump that is top of the piston ?? And could you give me a example of a piston that I could use to get to 10:1 compression ratio ?

gr Arnoud
 
Ok took the valve covers and timing cover off today. Found out I have got 346 heads on my 440. So does that mean it already has hardened valve seats so I can drive on 95 pump gas and also lpg ?

And I also found out I got a one bolt cam. So now can order the right cam kit for my engine. Think that it is going to be a Comp Cam.

Been to Gooze Garage here in the Netherlands, they are specialised in American Muscle and they are getting me a quote for the cost of new pistons and bearings in my 440.

But now I`m still looking for the original Mopar pistons to get to 10:1 compression. Anyone can help me get a part number of store where I can buy them from ??

gr Arnoud
gr Arnoud
 
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