So I found a 440BB

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Treblig

Treblig

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It was on craigslist. Where I live 440s are as rare as hen's teeth!! It was a few miles out of town and the guy only wanted $450 for it. So I drove for 45 min to find that the guy has 2 454s (complete)and one 440 complete with 727. Unfortunately they had all been sitting outside for about 15 years, the intakes (no carb) were full of leaves and crap, one intake had an extremely large tarantula peeking out of the intake ports. I tried turning the engines over with no luck at all. He only wanted $250 for the 454 engines (each). But they were all locked up and after 15 years in the weather I figured that I'd never get them to come apart and if I did the cylinders would be so pitted it would have been a waste of money and time. The lifters were surely froze solid and I'd probably have to break the cam to get it out.
I hated to leave them there. The guy says "Oh yea, just pour some Kerosene into the cylinders and the pistons will come right out....been doing this for years!!". I guess he thought that he was talking to a fool??? I've hammered on frozen pistons (with a 2 X 4) for hours trying to the piston free so I know. One more thing...I live on the Gulf coast, salt air and high humidity. When things get wet they corrode really bad really fast.
I didn't want to be discourteous so I told the man that I'd have to borrow a truck from one of my friends and that I'd have think about it.

PS - Oh yea, when it rains around here it rains inches!! These engines were leaning against the outside of a lean to shed on the side where all the rain water would normally pour off of.

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?? BUY OR WALK???:realcrazy::soapbox::BangHead:

Treblig
 
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Treblig said:
It was on craigslist. Where I live 440s are as rare as hen's teeth!! It was a few miles out of town and the guy only wanted $450 for it. So I drove for 45 min to find that the guy has 2 454s (complete)and one 440 complete with 727. Unfortunately they had all been sitting outside for about 15 years, the intakes (no carb) were full of leaves and crap, one intake had an extremely large tarantula peeking out of the intake ports. I tried turning the engines over with no luck at all. He only wanted $250 for the 454 engines (each). But they were all locked up and after 15 years in the weather I figured that I'd never get them to come apart and if I did the cylinders would be so pitted it would have been a waste of money and time. The lifters were surely froze solid and I'd probably have to break the cam to get it out.
I hated to leave them there. The guy says "Oh yea, just pour some Kerosene into the cylinders and the pistons will come right out....been doing this for years!!". I guess he thought that he was talking to a fool??? I've hammered on frozen pistons (with a 2 X 4) for hours trying to the piston free so I know. One more thing...I live on the Gulf coast, salt air and high humidity. When things get wet they corrode really bad really fast.
I didn't want to be discourteous so I told the man that I'd have to borrow a truck from one of my friends and that I'd have think about it.

PS - Oh yea, when it rains around here it rains inches!! These engines were leaning against the outside of a lean to shed on the side where all the rain water would normally pour off of.

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?? BUY OR WALK???:realcrazy::soapbox::BangHead:

Treblig
Click to expand...
walk.

on a side note, I have a spare 440 block.....
 
Well you guys are making feel better because it seemed like such a waste of good engines!! If they were "free" I might go through all the trouble of hauling them home just to see if I could get any good parts out of them but I don't think they'll ever leave the spot where they are sitting.

Dukeboy...I appreciate the offer but the only reason I was interested was because it was close to home and the engine was complete with transmission.

I would have bought all three because 454s are extremely popular where I live!!

treblig
 
The big block 727 core might be worth $100, especially if it is a long tailshaft version and has things like the dust shield, dipstick tube and throttle valve linkage. I have found that big block 727 cores are getting harder to find then big blocks themselves.....

Offer $100 for the 440 / 727 and take your chances?
 
d55dave said:
The big block 727 core might be worth $100, especially if it is a long tailshaft version and has things like the dust shield, dipstick tube and throttle valve linkage. I have found that big block 727 cores are getting harder to find then big blocks themselves.....

Offer $100 for the 440 / 727 and take your chances?
Click to expand...
try finding a big block push button 727
 
d55dave said:
The big block 727 core might be worth $100, especially if it is a long tailshaft version and has things like the dust shield, dipstick tube and throttle valve linkage. I have found that big block 727 cores are getting harder to find then big blocks themselves.....

Offer $100 for the 440 / 727 and take your chances?
Click to expand...
The 440 was pulled out a 70s Plymouth (land yacht, at least that's what he said, not a motor home) and it was complete and I did notice that the tail housing had a big balancer type thing attached to it. This is an older guy that seems to know his engines??

treblig
 
The big weight bolted to the tail ? Sounds like a "C" Body or possible 1/2 ton truck.Like you I hate to see such engines left out in the elements. I went to see about a very low miles 225. The guy had it in a trailer.He didn't know his kid took it out and left it uncovered. The carb and valve cover breather and pcv were gone the engine was full of water. What a waste....
 
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Darter6 said:
The big weight bolted to the tail ? Sounds like a "C" Body or possible 1/2 ton truck.
Click to expand...


To clarify....It was a round balancer type thing not a weight on the tail shaft itself. I didn't look at it that close but I did notice it, I think that part of the drive shaft was still attached with that round balancer thing??

treblig
 
Sounds like the slip yome and part of the driveshaft is there. Some of the driveshafts had some kind of inertia weight on them.

BTW, slip yoke installed is good as it would prevent contamination of the trans.
 
Treblig said:
The 440 was pulled out a 70s Plymouth (land yacht, at least that's what he said, not a motor home) and it was complete and I did notice that the tail housing had a big balancer type thing attached to it. This is an older guy that seems to know his engines??

treblig
Click to expand...
If he knew his engines, he never woulda left em stored that way in the first place.
 
moparmat2000 said:
If he knew his engines, he never woulda left em stored that way in the first place.
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Now you have a very good point!! If he knew mechanics like he boasted he would have never left them outside or at least he would have covered them really good!!

treblig
 
Yep. Remove the plugs, spray the cylinders with marine pickling oil, and turn it over manually a few times, put the plugs back in, cover the carb opening and exhaust openings with aluminum speed tape and stick it in a corner. Stand it up on end on top of a big square concrete paver, with trans mating end down can also help keep water out if your storing it outside, and did the other above things i mentioned. Also remove the core plugs and drain the antifreeze.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Yep. Remove the plugs, spray the cylinders with marine pickling oil, and turn it over manually a few times, put the plugs back in, cover the carb opening and exhaust openings with aluminum speed tape and stick it in a corner. Stand it up on end on top of a big square concrete paver, with trans mating end down can also help keep water out if your storing it outside, and did the other above things i mentioned. Also remove the core plugs and drain the antifreeze.
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The guy did exactly NONE of that!! As I was leaving he kept claiming that the engines would be just fine after a little lubing.

treblig
 
Wait awhile then go back ant tell him you will be willing to buy them per pound as scrap. Then strip off em anything thsts useable, sellable, and send em off to the big car lot in the sky
 
moparmat2000 said:
If he knew his engines, he never woulda left em stored that way in the first place.
Click to expand...
I have also found that Google makes anybody an expert nowadays. Theres this dude that i work with his name is Victor. You could be tslking about anything, to somebody with him in earshot distance. He will have the dear in the headlights look. A day or 2 later all of a sudden the dude is an expert on whatever subject you were talking to that other person about. We named him Vickapedia
 
I wouldn't say they are a complete loss but not worth what he is asking considering they may not be salvagable. I got a 69 hp 440 engine with my GTX that was sitting outside since who knows when. The oil pan was rusted through, a valve cover was missing, no covering. After pulling it apart the #6 piston was stuck solid, soaked in atf for 2 weeks, heated, still stuck. Finally drilled and beat it out. The bores cleaned up to .040" over and it is a good runner now. It was not something I would have paid for outright.
 
threewood said:
I wouldn't say they are a complete loss but not worth what he is asking considering they may not be salvagable. I got a 69 hp 440 engine with my GTX that was sitting outside since who knows when. The oil pan was rusted through, a valve cover was missing, no covering. After pulling it apart the #6 piston was stuck solid, soaked in atf for 2 weeks, heated, still stuck. Finally drilled and beat it out. The bores cleaned up to .040" over and it is a good runner now. It was not something I would have paid for outright.
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I know that all the pistons would be stuck for sure, not only that but the intake had been removed and was sitting loose on the engine. I lifted it off and could see the lifters frozen in place. I was afraid that something (lifter hole) would break and that the cam was frozen in place as well. Just not worth all the work and money.
I'm glad that I walked................

treblig
 
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