compatable engines for 68 charger?

[proud_owner68]

My 68 charger came with the original 383 engine and auto transmission (not sure what it is but it was a column shift car)   The rebuilding of the engine is going to take some time and I am shopping around for a replacement engine and transmission until I put the original back in. After that I will use the replacements to put in my 69 which lacks both.   I was talking to a scrap metal dealer and he said he has a running 440 engine and transmission out of a 1970 dodge pickup truck.  Does anybody know if this engine would fit in my charger?  What about the transmission from that?  I'm guessing because both are big blocks, the transmissons should fit, right?  Anyway it seems all I can find around here are engines from the 70's and later.  Surprisingly a couple people even mentioned they have some big blocks in some old chrystler motor homes!  But Im a bit skeptical about those.  So I just wanted to come here and see what you all thing.  Thanks for any advice.

[Troy]

If you've already got a 383 then the 440 will practically drop right in - same transmission and all. The motor home engines are usually more work to get in because the exhaust manifolds and sometimes the heads are different. The blocks are about the same though. The engines aren't built for high performance cars but if you rebuild one it won't matter how it was configured originally. Also, some motor homes may have a 413 in them so be sure you know how to tell the difference. The 413, 426, and 440 have the same outside dimensions while the 383 and 400 are shorter (which is why they are called "low deck" engines). Dodge put 440 in trucks all the way through 1978 I believe so those are good places to look. The truck transmissions probably won't work though. I think the last year for the 383 was 1971 but then the 400 came out. Lots of guys prefer the 400 because you can "stroke" it and make lots of power. Anything after 71-72 is a "smog motor" and isn't going to put out the same power as the earlier engines in stock form - anything can be built though. The later engines will have a cast crank as well but unless you're building a race engine it should be fine. Many of the parts on your 383 are interchangeable with a 440 like the heads, water pump, oil pan, and exhaust manifolds. You can't use the intake manifold though. You'll probably need to do a little work if you want to use your original exhaust since the engine is physically taller but the rest of the swap should be fairly easy. It would be good to upgrade the cooling and fuel systems to handle the extra grunt of the 440 but that's all stuff you can keep when the 383 goes back in.

Troy

[8WHEELER]

If you are running headers most likely the exhaust will all bolt right up, but if you are running stock
manifolds that will be your biggest problem going to a 440. As was said the 440 is a RB block, so
your stock 383 manifold to header pipes will need to be changed witch is not cheap unless you
know somebody in a muffler shop. And your 383 trans is a 727 so it will bolt right to a 440.

Dan

[proud_owner68]

Thanks a lot guys. This helped me a lot.  So I guess I will go with the 440 out of the 1970 tuck and just use my same transmission that's on the 383 then. I dont have to worry about converting the exhaust, cooling and fuel systems.. since none of that is in my car either.  Yeah, it was basically stripped clean from everything including ALL wiring. The only thing sitting in there was the 383 block (which checked out to be fine) and the transmission.  Its a bit odd to why it was like that, but the frame and body are near perfect so its a good one to retore. But I need a lot of help..

[deputycrawford]

Just make sure the 440 isn't externally balanced. 1970 shouldn't be, but you better check. The 383 is internally balanced so the torque converter won't have any weights on it. I would also check to see if the 440 trans is the same. I do believe they are. You might be able to bolt them down in one assembly.