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Post by legendaryacura8 on Mar 4, 2012 16:24:06 GMT -5
Well, with recent developments in the 360 in my Monaco, I figured sooner is better than later to get started on the 440 swap. My question is that there are plenty of people selling old 440 motors on craigslist. What markings should I be looking for on the block. I'd love to find an old HP motor, but if not it's not horrible. Does it matter if it was pulled out of a old RV? I'm just looking for guidance on what I should be asking when calling people who list an old 440 with a transmission and no other details...
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Post by spanks79 on Mar 4, 2012 16:53:47 GMT -5
Check out 440source.com they have a page all about 440 blocks. From what I can tell there are differences but for the most part the differences are minor when talking about building a street car engine. The biggest concern is to find a block that is not cracked or otherwise damaged.
I too am looking into a 440. I am torn between buying a Craigslist engine or possibly an already built crate engine. Obviously the crate is more money but I have a feeling that it will be close to even money when you consider what it will take to rebuild the Craigslist find.
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Post by legendaryacura8 on Mar 4, 2012 17:53:33 GMT -5
I've gone the crate engine route, but that's a little out of my price range right now. I'm trying to find a running 440 that I can throw new parts on as my build progresses. I found a '78 CHP 440. I thought I wanted a pre '72, but after checking out www.440source.com/blockinfo.htm it seems that a post '75 block is the way to go. My other question now is: I really don't like all of the extra emissions crap, so should I got with the '78 440 and have to worry about dealing with all of the emissions stuff, or keep looking for an earlier block? |
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Post by Lord Vadus on Mar 4, 2012 23:38:18 GMT -5
I'm in the process of rebuilding a '76-date-code block from a '77 New Yorker and its not too bad. The emissions crap is easily removed and ignored, too. The thing is, I bought the whole car and scrapped the body for $275.00 and sold my 360 for $500. Considering the car cost me $825.00 delivered and I kept the rear end and transmission, it's worked out well.
The question then becomes: do you work on it yourself or have someone do it for you? I chose to swap out the forged crank for an earlier cast one to get the best of both worlds, upgraded the cam, changed out the distributor, added a performance air intake, and put in a set of performance pistons. I still have less than a crate motor costs into it, but its gone a lot slower than it would have if I dropped a ready-to-go motor in and have a motor that I know I can trust and is built to my satisfaction.
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Post by legendaryacura8 on Mar 5, 2012 2:06:07 GMT -5
This whole blu-mo build is a project for me. I do want to get it done ASAP, but money situations will slow it down. Internal workings of the motor (i.e. crankshaft, cam shaft, possible boring out) would be done by a shop. Simple bolt on things like heads, intake manifold, etc. I would do myself. I can pick up the 78 CHP motor for 600, maybe even talk him down some. Once that's in I can sell the 360 and hopefully make some back... I figure if I'm eventually replacing the heads and intake, there's not much more to worry about as far as emissions parts on the motor are concerned, but that's just my line of thought...
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