440 IS IN!... PICS JUNE 4th

[PocketThunder]

I am nearing the engine build process of my resto and i need to size up a cam for my 440.  I read in another post where firefighter said you need to take into consideration the rear end gearing.  In my 68 i have the 8-3\4 with i think 2:93 gears.  My parts car has the same one.  I dont want to spend the $1000 to buy a 3:23 or 3:55 sure grip gear set right now, so i thought i could just swap the Dana in my 500 into the 68 for the time being.  The 500 wont see the road for at least 2 years.  then i can switch them back.

So, I have not checked the gearing in my Dana yet, and while i'm at work pondering what to do, i thought i'd ask to see if they all came with 4:11's or what? 


Paul
in St. Paul

[694spdRT]

The Dana 60 rear only came standard in the 4 speed R/T's and 500's. The Dana's standard gearing was 3.54 and the 4.10's were optional.  If your Charger 500 is an automatic it would have came standard with an 8 3/4" rearend unless optioned out with a Dana. Do you have your fender tag as that may tell what the Dana option in your car would be?

[phat69charger]

Hey, Paul

Take a look at this thread, I posted information about a gearing calculator that I used to figure out my gearing   http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,9491.msg118174.html#msg118174

[BigBlockSam]

 

[PocketThunder]

The Dana 60 rear only came standard in the 4 speed R/T's and 500's. The Dana's standard gearing was 3.54 and the 4.10's were optional.  If your Charger 500 is an automatic it would have came standard with an 8 3/4" rearend unless optioned out with a Dana. Do you have your fender tag as that may tell what the Dana option in your car would be?

Yes, the 500 was originally an automatic, 8-3/4 car, Leudtke put in the Dana because he was gonna make a Daytona clone out of it.  So there is no code on the fender tag............. Ok, I just went and crawled under the 500 and the tag reads:

46-13
3:54

So i guess i have a 3:54 Dana to use if i feel the need to swap out the 8-3/4 with high gears.   The 8-3/4 reads 2070741.  what gear ratio did this car have then?  It was a 318 auto car originally...

Paul

[PocketThunder]

Now onto my second question about building the 440.

What size cam do i want to run?  I have a Holley carb for the 440 that i think is a 650, but i need to confirm, its at my Dads place right now in storage.  I'm relatively green when it comes to specing out a build.  I've read a ton of threads about building 440s and it seems there are a hundred ways to do it.   

My engine guys are gonna bore the block 30 over, and give the heads a valve job.  I asked them about how much torque can i expect it to make and they said thats all up to me to decide.   

My plan for the car is to drive it almost every day in the summer.  I drive 20 miles each way for my commute (15 highway/5 city), and i'll put a lot of highway miles on it going to the in-laws cabin on the weekends.  So, maybe i want to keep the high gear 8-3/4 rear in the car and build the block accordingly...  My 89 W250 gets about 14 mpg in the summer so if i can get at least that i wont be hurting my gas budget at all.

What do you guys think?

thanks,

Paul
in St. Paul

[BigBlockSam]

howdy
  650 holley, way to small for a strong 440. 750 min. .

[Chryco Psycho]

I would use a K56 Engle

[694spdRT]

If you want to stay with the 2.93 gearing for highway driving you should keep the camshaft down on the duration. I would say something like an Engle K54 or K56 would be good. Try to keep you compression at no more than 9.5 to 1 for pump gas. This will depend on the combustion chamber size, head gasket thickness, and how far below deck the pistons are. I am sure Chryco or Firefighter will help you out more on that stuff. A dual plane intake would probably be best with those gears to help on the low end too.

A 3.23 gear would help a little more on out of the hole and rpm on the highway will probably be in the 2500rpm range at 60mph depending on the height of your tire. The 2.93's should put you somewhere in the 21-2200 rpm range. I had 2.71's in the '68 before and it ran 1800rpm at 60mph with a 14" tire. I averaged 17mpg with a 383 and Holley 750 on the highway with it.

Edit: Chryco beat me to it.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I would use a K56 Engle

I followed Neil's recommendation in my 440 and I'm pleased

[firefighter3931]

I'll agree with the rest....a k56 should be a nice match for 3.54 gears. A 2200-2500 stall would also be benificial. 

Ron

[PocketThunder]

I'll agree with the rest....a k56 should be a nice match for 3.54 gears. A 2200-2500 stall would also be benificial. 

Ron

Hi Ron,

Will the k56 also be a nice match with the 2.92 gears?

[firefighter3931]

I'll agree with the rest....a k56 should be a nice match for 3.54 gears. A 2200-2500 stall would also be benificial. 

Ron

Hi Ron,

Will the k56 also be a nice match with the 2.92 gears?

Hi Paul,

The k56 will work ok with the taller gears but it's not the "ideal" cam for that combo. Another factor is tire diameter. For example ; if you're planning on a 28in rear tire (275/60/15) you'll be taking some ratio out of the final drive.

2.94 + 28in = 2.73
3.54 + 28in = 3.28

So as you can see, tire diameter has a significant impact. Basicly, you need enough gear to get the engine into it's "sweet spot" as soon as possible. High gearing (low numerically) + too big of a cam = sluggish performance.

Ron

[PocketThunder]

My engine was finished this week so i picked it up on Saturday morning on the way to my Dads shop and got to work assembling it.  It took me most of the day to get it together, primed and painted.  I shot it with 2 light coats of epoxy primer and then two coats of Nason paint from the DuPont store.  It turned out awesome!

[PocketThunder]

1st pic:  Lets see    how the hell did this K-frame go back together.....

2nd pic: all ready to go!  in two weeks i'll bring the 68 from my garage in the city to my Dads shop, put it on the hoist, roll the engine underneath and bolt it up. 

[Silver R/T]

looks nice

[Chryco Psycho]

good job !

[PocketThunder]

Took the 68 down to my Dads shop this weekend and we got the 440 in.  We went in from underneath and it was kind of neat to try it this way.  Although i had to finish the suspension first, it took me 5 f-ing hours to get the rusty upper control arms out of the car and get old bushings out and the new ones in.

Anyways, as always, some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Paul
in St. Paul

[PocketThunder]

 

[Silver R/T]

nice job getting that motor in

[terrible one]

Way cool man, looking good!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Nice to have the proper work environment/tools to do a job like a gentleman.

Great work Paul   keep it up bud

[BigBlockSam]

nice job car's looking tight.   

[mikepmcs]

that's friggin' awesome!!!
i specially like the cigar in the mouth pic, reminds me of the old days at fairfax chrysler ripping off exhaust smoking a cig, man i miss that crap!!

[General_01]

That is cool Paul. Is that your Dad with the cigar? Car is looking good. Every day is a step closer to driving that baby.