Finally got my T-ram 440 in!

[68-XS29]

After several years of searching swap meets and acquiring parts and pieces one at a time, I finally have what I need to drop this motor into my Charger. The motor is a 71 440 block, .030 over, forged TRW 2355 flat top pistons at 0 deck, LY rods, factory forged crank, stealth heads, (with the upgraded locks and retainers) MP purple shaft .509/292 cam, crane gold 1.5 roller rockers, 1 3/4" headers, and the icing on the cake, the tunnel ram with two 750 DP holleys. Compression is about 10.4:1. I also bought a fire core ready to run dist off of FireFighter. Trans is a 727 with the transgo TF2 kit and a turbo action 11" hemi converter, I believe its a 3,000 stall. With the .509 cam and a 3,000 stall, and a 3.91 gear, I am afraid it may be a bit of a pig off the line. Any one have any educated guesses at what kind of power this thing will make?

Looking for advice on engine break in. I have lucas break in additive, Valvoline ZR1 20-50 "racing oil", and I have Brad Penn 10-30 "green oil". Any opinions on which weight would be better for break in? 20-50 or 10-30. Either way I plan on adding the lucas break in additive to it as well. I should run it at 2,000 rpm for 20 minuets, then change the oil, correct?

A quick history on the car, the car sat in storage since 1989 until I bought it in 2013. I changed the oil, and put a battery in it and drove it off the lot. (It had not run since 1989). It is a real R/T with numbers matching 440 and 727. I am swapping out the numbers driveline so I can drive the car "spirtiedly" or take it to the track every now and then and not have to worry about putting a window in the numbers matching block. I will be saving the original engine and trans to be put back into the car at a much later date. I paid 8k for the car, and I think I got a pretty good deal  

I am super excited to get this thing fired up! Im sure Ill have more questions about tuning ect as I get it dialed in and work the bugs out.

Any questions or concerns about my setup are welcome, Im looking for advice and feedback!

[Lennard]

For 8k you stole that Charger!   Congrats on finally getting it back on the road. 

[68-XS29]

Thank you! It has been on the road since I bought it. The original 440 ran great actually, 14.2 at 99 mph at Maple Grove. Factory cast iron manifolds and all. I even drove it several times to the beach and to the cabin, I've just been waiting to do this engine swap. My original plan when I bought the short block about 5 years ago was to put it into my 78 pickup, which you can barely see in the picture behind the Charger. But I decided to put it into the Charger for now instead. Here is a picture of the day I bought it, and one of it and my wife after I got it cleaned up a little, and one from Carlisle. I also have a new 68 grille from classic industries to replace the 69 grille. The car was in a fender bender at some point and a whole front clip from a 69 went on. My wife and I are expecting our first child beginning of June, so the crunch is on to get it finished up so I can bring my kid home from the hospital in it! 

[billssuperbird]

I did the same set up on mine and I love it. Looks great 

[alfaitalia]

Very nice.....but you need a new T shirt! LOL!.....although it does say 68 on the screen.....has it had a face lift?

[68-XS29]

It is a 68 but was in a fender bender at some point and has a front clip from a 69 on it. I have a new 68 grille from classic industries that will be going on as well.

[tan top]

 hello & welcome    , charger looks good 

[Charger_Fan]

My wife and I are expecting our first child beginning of June, so the crunch is on to get it finished up so I can bring my kid home from the hospital in it! 

That will be great! I brought our daughter home in my Charger, back in '87. However, it wasn't quite as cool as yours will be, because back then mine was our daily driver.

Congrats on the upcoming birth of your baby, I hope all goes well with both baby & Mom.
Mom looks pretty cute BTW, you are a lucky man!

[Charger4404spd]

Very nice man!

[crj1968]

8 grand? Score!!

nice car man- congrats on car and even more so on new baby !   

[VegasCharger]

8K in 2013???  NICE SCORE!!!

And it's a 68

I paid a bit more for mine near the same time and mine's not an R/T.

Question, in your avatar did you purposely have your wife pose in the middle of the grill to hide the fact that it has a 69 grille on it? Or is the 68 grille already on it?

Way cool Charger and welcome aboard

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Hey I remember the car at Carlisle...parked right behind me for a bit....long enough for that picture

Congrats on the new bullet

[TPR]

Congrats all round.
TPR

[68-XS29]

Thanks guys! Yes VegasCharger, when taking photos I strategically have my wife stand in front of the 69 grille, or in front of the rear quarter panel rust.  When I found out the price of the car I could not get there fast enough and give them my money. I was afraid it was too good to be true, and a 68 has always been my dream car. While I was signing the paper work four other guys showed up to buy it, one of which is now a good friend of mine.

6T9 CHGR, I hope to make it to Carlisle this year, if so I will keep an eye out for you! Do you know if there are a bunch of other DC.com guys there? I think I read one time that there is (or was at one time) a DC.com tent somewhere?

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Yes there has been a tent for the last few years..hopefully again this year as well

[firefighter3931]

Very nice old school build ! 

For the cam break in ; bring it up to 2000 rpm and run it there for 20-25 minutes. Adjust the timing to 35* to keep it cool during the break-in. Get a big box fan and place it in front of the radiator. 

The parts combo should make right at the 500 horsepower mark. There's more in it with some head porting if you decide to do so in the future.

That cam is going to want lots of spark advance at idle....at least 20-25* of base timing. From my experience on the dyno those heads will make best power at 35* total timing so there's no need to add any additional timing into the engine and risk detonation. 

After it's broken in we can look at the distributor curve and make the necessary adjustments to get this big dog dialed in. 


Ron

[68-XS29]

Thanks for the advice Ron, I'll keep you posted on my progress! 

Is there a certain weight oil I should be using for break in? I have both Brad Penn 5-30 "green oil" and VR1 20-50 "racing oil" on the shelf, and a bottle of lucas break in additive as well.

[firefighter3931]

Thanks for the advice Ron, I'll keep you posted on my progress! 

Is there a certain weight oil I should be using for break in? I have both Brad Penn 5-30 "green oil" and VR1 20-50 "racing oil" on the shelf, and a bottle of lucas break in additive as well.

Cool.....looking forward to hearing it run ! 

I'd use the VR1 with the breakin lube. 


Ron

[VegasCharger]

Thanks guys! Yes VegasCharger, when taking photos I strategically have my wife stand in front of the 69 grille, or in front of the rear quarter panel rust.  When I found out the price of the car I could not get there fast enough and give them my money. I was afraid it was too good to be true, and a 68 has always been my dream car. While I was signing the paper work four other guys showed up to buy it, one of which is now a good friend of mine.

6T9 CHGR, I hope to make it to Carlisle this year, if so I will keep an eye out for you! Do you know if there are a bunch of other DC.com guys there? I think I read one time that there is (or was at one time) a DC.com tent somewhere?

Damn I'm good   

[68CoronetRT]

Just a quick note on the Stealth's stock valve springs. I also purchased the Stealth heads and did the 10* lock/retainer upgrade and roughly 4k miles after the engine running perfect one of the intake springs broke while cruising one Saturday afternoon(I drive like an old man most of the time, wasnt racing or anything). I called and talked to the guys at 440source and they said that the cam lift was too much by just a little(.513). When I bought the heads years ago they were advertising .600 lift on their springs, now they state .500.

I ended up going with a set of Crower springs and locks. The retainers I was able to reuse. The seat pressure was a little bit higher than what the heads called for but so far I've had no issues.