Final thoughts

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dukeboy440

dukeboy440

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So I'm finalizing my 440 build. Just wanted to see what some thoughts were.

73 440 block. .030 over, Zero Deck
1968 Forged 440 crank, re-balanced by machine shop
Aluminum Main Caps with Main girdle(still shopping for best one here)
Eagle 6.760 H Beam Rods
Ross Forged Flat tops with Valve Relief. Compression Height of 2.065
Comp Cams XE 284 cam, specs 284/296, Lift .507/.510
Schumacher Tri-Ys
Edelbrock Torker II intake
Holley 950 on topChanging this to a 750 based on recommendations so far
Edelbrock Performer RPM heads. Can't decide between the 84 or 88 CC head. Heads will be upgraded to Comp valve springs.

Goal here is a 450 fwhp. going in a 74 dart swinger 2 dr hd top with a 833 4spd, 8.75 and 3.91 gears.

:burnout:
 
why alum main caps? overkill for your hp levels. main studs and align hone would be plenty. i think a main stud girdle is also over kill. a 10:1 440 with even box stock eddy heads is gonna make more then 450 hp with ease. shift it at 5500rpm and it will last forever.
 
I think the tri y's will hurt performance. 950 carb is too big. Did some test and tune on my 440 in a 64 Sport Fury. Had similar cam, heads and intake. Ran best with a 750 Race Demon or 750 Holley.
 
furyus2 said:
I think the tri y's will hurt performance. 950 carb is too big. Did some test and tune on my 440 in a 64 Sport Fury. Had similar cam, heads and intake. Ran best with a 750 Race Demon or 750 Holley.
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the tri ys will cost him a few hp but if he keeps the rpm down below 5500 i dont thinks its going to be noticeable. should be a torque monster. i do agree with the 750 holley. best deal in town is the pro form carbs.
 
750. Tri-Y's. Aftermarket heads. Comp Cam. Yes to all that. The bigger carb, aftermarket mains and girdle are probably overkill for what you are after. 450hp isn't terribly tough to get out of a 440. Use the money you would have spent on the other stuff to have a good machine shop do some porting for you, and like these guys are saying, shift at 5500 rpm, you're gonna have a torque monster you will be very happy with.
 
younggun2.0 said:
why alum main caps? overkill for your hp levels. main studs and align hone would be plenty. i think a main stud girdle is also over kill. a 10:1 440 with even box stock eddy heads is gonna make more then 450 hp with ease. shift it at 5500rpm and it will last forever.
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Agreed. Put the money you'd spend on a girdle & aluminum main caps, towards something else. Have it align honed with main studs, and you'll be good for 600 plus, maybe more.
 
OK so changing to a 750 holley. Got it.

The reason for going overkill on the bottom end is that knowing me, I'll eventually try something that'll push the stock caps past the limits and walk that crank. You know like a turbo or super charger set up....so I'd rather build it to be completely bullet proof for now. Still planning on having the heads worked some. Problem is there is no reputable shop around here with Mopar head experience. Heck I had two shops tell me its been over 15 years since they'd seen a Mopar block come through.
 
I have run. 14 to 1 with studs, stock caps and a good line hone. No cap walk whatso ever.
Even when I broke a valve an it cracked 5 out of 8 cylinders.
 
vitamindart said:
I have run. 14 to 1 with studs, stock caps and a good line hone. No cap walk whatso ever.
Even when I broke a valve an it cracked 5 out of 8 cylinders.
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Hmm I will reconsider then.
 
According to my math, my CR should be around 10:1, is this correct? and is that still within the safe parameters to run 93 octane?
 
dukeboy_318 said:
According to my math, my CR should be around 10:1, is this correct? and is that still within the safe parameters to run 93 octane?
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Yup.

And if you start with a complete forged bottom end (crank, rods, pistons) with aluminum heads and moly compression rings an easy (easier than boost anyway) power adder in my opinion would be a 75 or 100 shot of N2O. Boost would be a lot easier with 8:1 compression.

If I had DEEP pockets, I would be rocking a roots blower. I don't have. If I get too bored of the 425 hp or so I have, I will add a 75 shot later. I kinda doubt I will get bored with it in a Dart.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
OK so changing to a 750 holley. Got it.

The reason for going overkill on the bottom end is that knowing me, I'll eventually try something that'll push the stock caps past the limits and walk that crank. You know like a turbo or super charger set up....so I'd rather build it to be completely bullet proof for now. Still planning on having the heads worked some. Problem is there is no reputable shop around here with Mopar head experience. Heck I had two shops tell me its been over 15 years since they'd seen a Mopar block come through.
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Well unfortunately, done correctly, forced induction of any kind would almost be a completely different build. Sounds like you should really think about what you want, before you plop down any cash... Just my opinion.
 
nitrojunkee said:
Well unfortunately, done correctly, forced induction of any kind would almost be a completely different build. Sounds like you should really think about what you want, before you plop down any cash... Just my opinion.
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Yup.

And if you go ahead with the build you are looking at you probably won't be disappointed except that it will be harder / more expensive to gain a huge "seat of the pants" kind of noticeable power gain later. Nitrous would be the easy way, but if you go that route be careful.
 
Lose the intake & replace with the RPM. The Torker will give up low end to the RPM. You want low end. Lose the tri-ys & replace with TTIs. Tri-Y's will get the engine in the chassis but really are not great for power. They hurt low end and top end so spend the coin on better headers. Lose the girdle. Lose the caps. Neither are needed. Stud the stock caps and have it align honed. Keep the bigger carb. Use a dished piston brought proud of the deck .005" and 84cc RPMs with the 1009 gaskets.
450hp at the crank is a stock 440 with a cam. Tweaking the parts I noted you should be 50hp more than your goal on pump low octane with room to grow.
 
Whats the fit of the TTIs in an abody chassis?

I have decided I will listen to your advice and drop the girdle idea and the caps.
 
TTI's fit awesome, close to everything, don't touch anything. The trick is to have your motor in perfect location to their specs (factory) some say they have to bang them in, but I didn't on a 69 Valiant, I even ran a mid-plate......I run 700+ HP on stock crank/caps, no girdle, no issues.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
Still planning on having the heads worked some. Problem is there is no reputable shop around here with Mopar head experience. .
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Call Mike at MRL Performance. He's only about 5 hrs north of you and shipping to and from wouldn't be too bad I wouldn't think.
 
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