WIW 1973 440

[Chris 69]

Hello,

Saturday, I had the Charger in the bank parking lot and an engine machinist approached me about a 440 he has for sale. Since I have wanted to swap my 383 for a 440, I'd like to know if his asking price is reasonable:

1. 1973 440 block, standard bore $600. He said he would magnaflux in my presence if I purchased it.
2. Forged crank $150.
3. Heads: $100 each (i assume they are not aluminum).
4. Pistons: no charge.

Questions:

1.Is his asking price reasonable?

2. I have not seen the parts in person yet, what should I look for? I did print out the information at this link - http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/motor/36.html

3. The 1973 block equivalent to a 1968 or 69 block (wall thickness, etc?)

Thank you, Chris

[rt green]

probably a cast crank. nothing wrong with that. i'd say 500.00 for the whole works is not out of line.

[skip68]

I think it's a bit high myself.   

[Chris 69]

Thank you for the input!

Chris

[Troy]

High - for this area of the country. For California, I don't know. Around here I could get the block for a couple hundred and heads for $100 per pair. I can find complete 440s in these parts for $200-800 depending on year and condition. I should pack them all up in a truck and haul them west! The forged crank would be nice (not original to that 440 I'm sure). Sometimes good cranks can be worth $250. If he's got it all cleaned and will magnuflux it then it saves you from having to pay for those services. I wouldn't use "used" pistons - but the rods are worth a bit and can be reused.

A 68-70 block alone could bring double that (or more depending on the specific numbers on it). There are several differences between the earlier engines and anything after 1972 - primarily due to "detuning", emissions, and the gas crisis. If you're building from scratch you'll be using your own cam so that's a wash. The heads will work - just make sure you do whatever machine work you need to work with the rest of the combination. Unfortunately, if you want a "hot" street engine it may very well be cheaper to buy some aluminum heads than machining the iron ones. The next big difference is the crank but, as I mentioned, if you're getting a forged one instead of the stock cast one then you're ahead of the game already. Nothing really wrong with a cast crank on the street though. You'll need the correct harmonic balancer to go with it. Other than intake and carb the rest of the engine will be amazingly similar. Most people stick on an aluminum intake and a Holley it seems so that's not an issue either.

Troy

[Chris 69]

Thank you Troy. I haven't been actively looking for a 440, so I am not quite up to speed on pricing. Your post is very helpful.

My goal for a 440 would be to build it to mostly stock specs; something near 400hp as I tend to drive the car on a regular basis. I'll have to talk to the guy and see how flexible he is on price - worst he can say is "no" and I'll still have the money in my pocket.

Chris

[Brass]

As Troy mentioned, the 73's were low-compression, detuned motors in stock form.  If original, the 73 pistons are unlikely to get you to 400 HP - you'd have to find another set.

[areibel]

Is the block machined and ready to assemble, or is it just a bare used block?  If it's already at least honed and isn't out of round I'd go for it- around here they ask at least that much for a cast crank motor.

[kab69440]

Will he cut you a deal on the machine work if you buy it from him? I dunno, you may be able to make something out of that... It's definitely worth checking in to.

[greenpigs]

I am going with rt green and say $500 for the whole deal. Chances are it will need bored since it is a standard block and those stock pistons are just scrap after that( low CR anyways).)

[Chris 69]

All, thank you for the info. I think its just the bare block, and the guy didn't mention anything regarding a "machining" deal I'll follow up and see what happens.

Chris