so im new to everything that is mopar and i tell you what im enjoying but i am starting my first mopar project which is a 1972 dart and it was a v8 car with power brakes and power steering, etc just about every thing you can get but, it has no engine so i bought 2 440's and got some 727 trans with it as a paclage deal so here are my questions which is a better engine 1968 or 1972, what are the basic things i need to get to swap this engine in to the car, ? such as motor mounts, clearance issue, trans mounts, raditors, etc.... i need to know everything that i can possible get to get me going, thank you very much. pics of your setups and info is great thanks
noob need some basics
- Thread starter swing72
- Start date
-
If I were you I would use the 68 440 if I could, as it will have a forged crank and the 72 will most likely have a cast crank. If I were you I would also set up a game plan as to what you want this car to be. Is it going to be a street/strip car, tubbed or mini-tubbed, just a motor transplant? A good vision of your car as you'd like it to be will set this in motion quicker. A couple items that you will need to buy are an 8 3/4 rear end, larger torsion bars, Schumacher engine mounts to fit your set-up, and a complete rebuild of the front and rear suspension systems. You are adding a lot of weight and torque and these areas need to be completely tight to handle this upgrade. I have never done this swap and there are some people here who have and who can fill in the details, but make sure that your underpinnings are up to task.
A couple years ago I bought a 71 Dart from "Lyle", a nice old gentleman. He and his brother had a 1977 440 motor built at Muscle Motors stuffed into this poor little old 6 cylinder Dart. No upgrades to the suspension at all, still had the small front drum brakes, the 7 1/4" rear, the 6 cylinder torsion bars, everything. The motor dynoed out at 450+ HP!!! I asked Lyle if he had ever driven it and he told me his brother had driven it about 500 feet, but couldn't keep the tire from spinning and put it in the ditch. I bought the whole car for $2500.00 and the motor is now in my friends race car. Although the job was not done exactly right, he did have A body fenderwell headers, homemade motor mounts on the 6 cylinder K frame, and there were no clearance issues. Unbelievably, he still had the 19" radiator in it!!! Trans crossmember was stock and it was shifted by the stock column shift. Trans was a big block 727. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck with your project, Geof
A couple years ago I bought a 71 Dart from "Lyle", a nice old gentleman. He and his brother had a 1977 440 motor built at Muscle Motors stuffed into this poor little old 6 cylinder Dart. No upgrades to the suspension at all, still had the small front drum brakes, the 7 1/4" rear, the 6 cylinder torsion bars, everything. The motor dynoed out at 450+ HP!!! I asked Lyle if he had ever driven it and he told me his brother had driven it about 500 feet, but couldn't keep the tire from spinning and put it in the ditch. I bought the whole car for $2500.00 and the motor is now in my friends race car. Although the job was not done exactly right, he did have A body fenderwell headers, homemade motor mounts on the 6 cylinder K frame, and there were no clearance issues. Unbelievably, he still had the 19" radiator in it!!! Trans crossmember was stock and it was shifted by the stock column shift. Trans was a big block 727. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck with your project, Geof
wjaholic
My car stole my wallet!
Getting a big block in an A body isn't hard. Doing it correctly can be a challenge.
I used a set of Schumachers conversion motor mounts and headers.
http://www.engine-swaps.com/
The transmission cross member can be re-used with no modifications. Even bolts in to the stock locations.
You will probably have to change the driveshaft or just shorten the original.
Although if you are upgrading the rear end, recomended, you may be better off upgrading the driveshaft as well.
I agree, you have to plan this sort of project out. I am building mine as a street car (mostly). I used the biggest radiator I could fit in between the frame rails. The biggest fan I could fit in my fan shroud (19" 7 blade on a HD thermal clutch).
I used a '73 440 that I rebuilt, cast crank and LY rods. Nothing special, did it on a budget. Same goes for the 727, rebuilt it in my barn, new clutches and steels with a shift kit and a few mods. Nothing wild.
My goal is to build a car that is fun to drive and looks like a factory big block car. Sure there are a few thing that stand out but... its a driver, it isn't perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCCYTEzRrpo
I used a set of Schumachers conversion motor mounts and headers.
http://www.engine-swaps.com/
The transmission cross member can be re-used with no modifications. Even bolts in to the stock locations.
You will probably have to change the driveshaft or just shorten the original.
Although if you are upgrading the rear end, recomended, you may be better off upgrading the driveshaft as well.
I agree, you have to plan this sort of project out. I am building mine as a street car (mostly). I used the biggest radiator I could fit in between the frame rails. The biggest fan I could fit in my fan shroud (19" 7 blade on a HD thermal clutch).
I used a '73 440 that I rebuilt, cast crank and LY rods. Nothing special, did it on a budget. Same goes for the 727, rebuilt it in my barn, new clutches and steels with a shift kit and a few mods. Nothing wild.
My goal is to build a car that is fun to drive and looks like a factory big block car. Sure there are a few thing that stand out but... its a driver, it isn't perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCCYTEzRrpo
Jim Lusk
Well-Known Member
Visit the tech pages at www.bigblockdart.com. Lots of ways to get to your goal. Some of it depends on the depth of your wallet. I ALWAYS come down on the side of saving money and doing things yourself.
yea thanks for the info guys and the plan for the car is to be a street/strip car but a little more to the strip side of the build i was planning on tubbing it and caging the car to run in the 10s but also able to some what kinda drive it on the street
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
74scamp360
Junior Member
68 440 i'd say, i think someone mentioned it further up but schumacher makes great kits to do small block and big block swaps. i've never heard anything bad about them so i'd look around there. i'd suggest a 26' rad. but maybe a smaller one would do. I'd also keep my eye out for a good set of torsion bars. from a slant 6 to a small block you can usually get away with using the slant 6 torsion bars but i wouldn't reccomend it if you're putting a big block in it. hope that helps, good luck!!
-
