Need a little guidance from the gurus

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AJ/FormS said:
One thing you haven't been talking about is the teener in the donor.I know you said it's been sitting for 20 years. but it's free for one..................
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Very good point, like I said it was my initial plan.

I have already torn it down to the block, everything looks to be in pretty good shape and it wasnt seized. I have never rebuilt a motor before and not going to lie...nervous to try.

That being said, I may have had stars in my eyes when looking at rebuilding it (boring it, getting the heads redone, etc). In my mind, I was getting up in that $4-5k by the time I got the machining and all the parts.

But maybe I need to re-visit it, go with a basic rebuild and just do cam/carb/intake and go with that until I can afford more HP. In my mind I thought it would be better to just find one that is running for cheap and work with that for awhile
 
now we're talking
Measure it up, see what's what, and maybe everything you need is already close by.
Then a little later,you can build that 440 you are so ga-ga about. heehee.
 
So I managed to find a 1979 cordoba with a low mile running 360LA. Waiting to hear back on the transmission type but its an automatic.

Been hunting around the threads, but cant seem to find the info I am looking for:

From what I can tell, it should have come factory with a 8 1/4" rear end. I am a little confused as it seems this could be classified as a "r" body. Will this differential bolt up on the a body or does it require modification?

Obviously I will measure everything when I go to look at it, just wondering ahead of time to see if its worth the trip
 
The Córdoba is a B body car that came with a 8-1/4 rear. I'm not sure if the 9-1/4 was an option that year being the last year of the B body and no big block option. The rear is a bit wide and would require modifications to fit. It would be way easier to get an A body rear to swing in.

The trans, if it is the stock unit is a 904. It may be a lock up trans.
 
rumblefish360 said:
The Córdoba is a B body car that came with a 8-1/4 rear. I'm not sure if the 9-1/4 was an option that year being the last year of the B body and no big block option. The rear is a bit wide and would require modifications to fit. It would be way easier to get an A body rear to swing in.

The trans, if it is the stock unit is a 904. It may be a lock up trans.
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Cool, thanks rumblefish. I was hoping I would get lucky with the rear end and get everything in one spot but hey....2 out of 3 aint bad.

Appreciate all the help
 
No problem, glad to help.
Now to throw a wrench in the works (Actually hope not but....) Do you want to run a lock up trans? Because that is probably what is in the Cordoba.
 
rumblefish360 said:
No problem, glad to help.
Now to throw a wrench in the works (Actually hope not but....) Do you want to run a lock up trans? Because that is probably what is in the Cordoba.
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For this setup, being that I am not really planning to do a whole bunch to either the motor or trans and just drive it for now.

I am not giving up on my BB dream, although it may never be in an A body. I dont see it being a major issue have a lockup trans in the valiant for now...unless I am missing something?
 
I don't get why everyone is anti big block
Chassis and brakes should be upgraded on any high powered engine.

Magnums make a great platform especially in the 300-400 hp range above that on the street larger cid is probably a good idea but even at lower power levels 440 would make the same power about 1000 RPMs lower and need about one full gear ratio lower eg ... 360/4.10:1 vs 440/3.23:1.

A decent street cam intake and headers gets about 1.2:1 torque per cid and most engines make about 90% torque at peak Horsepower so pick peak power at 5252 rpm since it's a good street engine peak and mathematically simple since torque and hp are the same at the rpm.

440 x 1.2 x 90% = 475hp @ 5252 rpm
360 x 1.2 x 90% = 388 hp @ 5252 rpm
440 would make the same power as the 360 about 4300 RPMs.

And peak torque would be about 1500 RPMs lower
528 lbs-ft and 432 lbs-ft @ 3750 rpm respectively
3.23:1 x 528 = 1705 to the tires
4.10:1 x 432 = 1771 to the tires

As you can see for cheap streetable hp there's no replacement for displacement and both those power levels are just carb/intake cam and header swap away.
Edit...Actually the 440 would need head work and CR to get there but ya know what I mean.

Intake and headers will lower the weight quite a bit for those who's worried about such things.
 
273 said:
I don't get why everyone is anti big block
Chassis and brakes should be upgraded on any high powered engine
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Not anti-big block..but its sooooooooo much fun beating up on them with a small block:D:D
 
I'm not anti-BB either, but for an A-body streeter, they are kindof overkill.I mean at about 10 pounds per cubic inch A's are really fun. Thats a fat 68 Barracuda fb with a 360, or a lightweight early A with even a 273,or a Demon with a 318.
And if you use the HP levels, well then a warmed up 360 at 400hp makes 3600/400=9pounds per hp, that's a fun place to be. And so a lighterA at say 2800 pounds needs just 311 hp to match it. If you put that 360 into the light A you will be at about 2800/400= 7 pounds /hp, which would require 3600/7=514hp in the bigA. While 514 is not impossible from a 360, it would hardly be considered streetable. Really 514 hp is strokerSB or BB territory.
Some one said there's no substitute for displacement. But I think more accurately,for a streeter, there's no substitute for power to weight (P/W) ratio.If you continually increase the P/W on a streeter,sooner or later, you will reach the limits of either the tires, or the chassis,or the brakes,or the bank account, or something!
But if your chassis cannot support the power,well then,it's up to you to make it safe.And the more power you make, the more everything you need; including tires and, especially, cash.
My combo sits around 8.5 or 8.0 pounds per hp, and is very streetable. Some of the guys here are down around 6 or less. I just cannot imagine that, although I'd never refuse a ride!
 
AJ/FormS said:
Hello to a fellow Northerner

For a DD, and a snappy streeter, and 275s or less,a mild 360 is all you need. A 440 would be like hunting squirrels with a cannon.How dead does it need to be to stay dead.Even a hot teener can be snappy.
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HEY! Those damned squirrels were ASKING for it! I use grapeshot instead of canister for those rodents. And, it needs to be VERY dead, or would you prefer to deal with zombie squirrels when they come back...

383 Magnum or 440 Magnum are the fine red mist calibers of the engine shootout world. ;)
 
AJ/FormS said:
I'm not anti-BB either, but for an A-body streeter, they are kindof overkill.I mean at about 10 pounds per cubic inch A's are really fun. Thats a fat 68 Barracuda fb with a 360, or a lightweight early A with even a 273,or a Demon with a 318.
And if you use the HP levels, well then a warmed up 360 at 400hp makes 3600/400=9pounds per hp, that's a fun place to be. And so a lighterA at say 2800 pounds needs just 311 hp to match it. If you put that 360 into the light A you will be at about 2800/400= 7 pounds /hp, which would require 3600/7=514hp in the bigA. While 514 is not impossible from a 360, it would hardly be considered streetable. Really 514 hp is strokerSB or BB territory.
Some one said there's no substitute for displacement. But I think more accurately,for a streeter, there's no substitute for power to weight (P/W) ratio.If you continually increase the P/W on a streeter,sooner or later, you will reach the limits of either the tires, or the chassis,or the brakes,or the bank account, or something!
But if your chassis cannot support the power,well then,it's up to you to make it safe.And the more power you make, the more everything you need; including tires and, especially, cash.
My combo sits around 8.5 or 8.0 pounds per hp, and is very streetable. Some of the guys here are down around 6 or less. I just cannot imagine that, although I'd never refuse a ride!
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I agree with everything you said especially the power to weight ratio and cause HP is to easily made now days people are getting a little greedy :)

The OP seem to have his heart set on a 440 and maybe over kill and I agree 318/340/360 would easily be up to the job but there really no reason and hard to make a case for anything smaller.

At 300/350/400/450/500 plus hp A 440 will be more durable and street friendly. If you have a 440 available to there's really no reason to go another way whatever performance level. And to be able to run very high gears and get the most out of your combo is almost worth it alone.

The exhaust is the only thing holding me back for the swap in my 65 cuda.
 
Hm.. so if I've read this right.. You want to convert to a V8 on a budget. You already have a 318 and 904, both need work. You have a 7 1/4 rear end, needs work.

The 318 is free and if the parts are in good shape then you might be able to get away with a re-ring kit. Just replace the wear-and-tear parts, make a few upgrades, then put the engine back together. If everything is in decent shape and the cylinders aren't too worn then this could be your cheapest option. I've done it and it worked out great. You can get the car set up for a V8 this way and you can cruise around while you build up another small block, if you want. Then if you get another small block built, it'll bolt right in (mostly), will use the same accessories, and you'll have a backup engine just in case you get carried away and parts go BOOM. :burnout:

Getting an 8 1/4 rear is a good idea. Affordable, durable, good gear selection, and you can get rear disc brakes from a cherokee too. I'd stick with a 904 transmission. You get more power at the wheels (compared to a 727) and they can take a beating.

Small blocks swaps are a piece of cake and if you play your cards right, it doesn't have to be an incredibly expensive swap. Just remember.. Things start to cost exponentially more as you want to go faster.
 
The lock up converter is hard to find in a performance application and costs more since no one really wants a lock up in the high performance or race car.

That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
BlueDream said:
Hm.. so if I've read this right.. You want to convert to a V8 on a budget. You already have a 318 and 904, both need work. You have a 7 1/4 rear end, needs work.

The 318 is free and if the parts are in good shape then you might be able to get away with a re-ring kit. Just replace the wear-and-tear parts, make a few upgrades, then put the engine back together. If everything is in decent shape and the cylinders aren't too worn then this could be your cheapest option. I've done it and it worked out great. You can get the car set up for a V8 this way and you can cruise around while you build up another small block, if you want. Then if you get another small block built, it'll bolt right in (mostly), will use the same accessories, and you'll have a backup engine just in case you get carried away and parts go BOOM. :burnout:

Getting an 8 1/4 rear is a good idea. Affordable, durable, good gear selection, and you can get rear disc brakes from a cherokee too. I'd stick with a 904 transmission. You get more power at the wheels (compared to a 727) and they can take a beating.

Small blocks swaps are a piece of cake and if you play your cards right, it doesn't have to be an incredibly expensive swap. Just remember.. Things start to cost exponentially more as you want to go faster.
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I think I am with you on this.

The 1979 Cordoba I found is for sale for $1500. It has a 360LA with a Holley 600 and Edelbrock performer on it already. Has a 904(stock) trans, both motor and trans have 65,000kms. Going to look at at next week, if everything checks out I think this will be a pretty solid/cheap option for me. Unfortunately the rear end isn't going to work, so still will need to address that but its still not a bad price for good motor/trans.

Am I going to be able to use any of the braking system from the Cordoba? From what I have found so far, only seems like you can use spindles from a B body up to '76?
 
Take the spindles. Not sure how they work out on A bodies. I keep forgetting this chit. But you DO want everything that attaches to the spindles. Caliper bracket, caliper, the discs, etc...

On the rear end, it is most likely that it is a 10 X 2-1/2 brake brake set up.
Take everything that attaches to the axle. From the backing plate to the drum and everything on it and what holds it together.
 
If you are on a tight budget the 7 1/4 will hold up as long as you don't beat on it.... contrary to popular belief. I put one in my 65 Dart with a pretty warm 273 4/speed while in the Army to make it a little more drivable.
 
Back in Time said:
If you are on a tight budget the 7 1/4 will hold up as long as you don't beat on it.... contrary to popular belief. I put one in my 65 Dart with a pretty warm 273 4/speed while in the Army to make it a little more drivable.
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My friends broke the later versions of the 7 1/4 easily. 1988 Diplomat with a stock 318 with 155k, blew the crosspin out. 1993 Dakota with a 2.5 took all the teeth off the ring. Run, run away from those things!
 
I knew some good fella would step up with some dang brake info!

Thanks for the both of us!
 
Puking crosspins is almost always from peg-legging it,or shock loading.
But if,upon inspection, the crosspin holes are egged out, the case is near death.Either; fix it, replace it, weld it solid,or ditch it. A new SG will come with a new case.
If yours has a good ratio, just put a Suregrip in it with a good case, and drive it. With sub 255 street tires, they can take a pretty good licking, behind a SBM.Make sure the pinion nut is tight. Then keep an eye out for a good affordable,upgrade.

J-hooks are out.....
 
Something I will add..... is that car MIGHT have a "999" which is the HD version of a 904, and if that's the case, that is a score also! I pulled a 360 from a cordoba once, and it had the 999 in it.
 
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