Help in testing used 440 and 727 tranny.

[raull]

Hello! (I am not mechanically incline, with that said.)
Well I just bought a used 440 (1978 engine) with the original tranny on it. It looks pretty much all stock. Would like to get help on testing the engine, and tranny before I do anything to them. The person that sold me the engine said it was in working condition. Can anyone tell me what good compressions would be and what else can I do to the engine to test its quality? Tranny? I was planning to rebuilt the engine, but before I do that would like to find out its status first. The engine will be going into a 1968 charger. The car will be used as a Sunday driver. If the engine has good compressions, what else can I (have mechanic) do to it for better street performance wise.

What I have so far, Holley duel plane intake, Holley 650 carburetor, and headers.

Oh yeah, differential will have to be changed on the charger if the engine goes in, what is recommended for the 440?

(requesting opinion, I can get my hands on a 1971 Dodge Charger SE 400 matching engine straight body barely any rust they claim it turns on and runs, what would be the minimum to max value on this type of description car? I can get it for $2,000. Would it be a good investment?)

Any help appreciated.

[Steve P.]

You said you are not mechanically inclined. This tells me you more than likely don't have a whole lot of tools and testing equipment. If you are going to have the engine rebuilt there isn't much sense in playing with it. Let the machine shop pull it down and measure everything up. They have the right stuff to do it and the know how.

On the 3rd gen. Charger I would say that 2 grand is not bad. Anything that runs and looks good is worth that. Of course the more complete the car is the more it's worth as you won't need to spend allot of time and money tracking down parts. The more solid the body is the better also.. From your description I would probably pay $2K. Just make sure the car is everything you are saying. Mud and paint hides alllllllllllllllllllot..

[raull]

thx you for your responce

but I was looking for help in knowing what to tell the mechanic. Tell the mechanic to do check compression and what else? thx

[Steve P.]

Raull, if you are going to rebuild the motor you don't need to waste any money or time on having a mechanic check it out. Unless he has a complete starting jig he isn't going to be able to tell you much. Your MACHINIST is the guy that will be able to tell you what is what and if HE doesn't know what to do, well, then your motor is in the wrong place...

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Just telling you the reality of it all.

You could check leak down, but that doesn't much matter if you are rebuilding it.

You could pull it apart and LOOK inside it, but if you don't know what you are looking for you will be making a mess and scattering parts..

Load it on your truck and take it to the machine shop.. They will know what to do to check it out..

[chargerman68]

Raull, if you are going to rebuild the motor you don't need to waste any money or time on having a mechanic check it out. Unless he has a starting complete jig he isn't going to be able to tell you much. Your MACHINIST is the guy that will be able to tell you what is what and if HE doesn't know what to do, well, then your motor is in the wrong place...

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Just telling you the reality of it all.

You could check leak down, but that doesn't much matter if you are rebuilding it.

You could pull it apart and LOOK inside it, but if you don't know what you are looking for you will be making a mess and scattering parts..

Load it on your truck and take it to the machine shop.. They will know what to do to check it out..

as far as the 3rd gen car from 2000 i would check it over and there is minor rust and no major damage i would buy it...

[raull]

OK SteveP I have done what you told me. ( I never said I was going to do the work, my mechanic is.)

My mechanic took it apart and will be taking the block to the machine shop tomorrow. Mechanic said it looks clean, but to confirm it he is going to get Honed or something like that. Its old and been sitting for a while now. Mechanic mentioned the engine could be re ring.  I don't think I want that since its a 1978 engine, and the pistons are lower, according to what i have read. Horsepower is much less in that year than compare to earlier (375 hp) years. What kind of engine kit can I get for it?  I am trying to get the most horsepower-torque from a complete rebuilt kit that would cost same as stock. I Would like to get close to 400 hp more is a plus, on pumped gas. thx for any advise given. I understand questions like this are asked constantly. I hope someone can give me ideas and help me select right parts.

I will be buying the parts for the mechanic. Mechanic will install anything I take to him.

I do have a Holley street dominator intake. Can I use it?

[no318]

Good quality engine kits at a GOOD price are available @ Northern Auto Parts in Sioux City.  THey have a website.  They will have a "standard" kit and you can substitute whatever parts you want from there.  The carry most major brands.  I know that they have Comp cams or you can get it without a cam and get what you want somewhere else.  I know I have used the TRW "six pack" replacement piston before and it is a good option to get the compression up a little.  It is a forged piston.  Not super exotic or lightweight, but a good deal on a good durable piston.  I know you can swap that into your kit @ Northern.

Also, I agree not to hone it and put rings on the old pistons.  They should bore it  (probably .030").  You will need to know how big before ordering parts AND if they turn the crankshaft down.  They should be able to tell you what size bearing you will need after the crankshaft is polished or turned down.

[Steve P.]

Raull, I don't think we are on the same page here.. 99% of the mechanics out there DO NOT have the measuring gauges to be able to tell if a block can be just honed or needs to be cut or CAN be cut. Most will give you a yes or no as far as what their eye can see. If the block has an obvious crack in it he will tell you it's cracked. Most won't be able to say yes and to what measurement.  That is the job of the MACHINIST.

I brought a motor to the machine shop last fall that I thought looked like a good block. I was told it was a good block. It ran in the previous car, BUT,,,,,,  the machine shop found a crack in the side of the block that I never saw. The person I bought it from never said it was heating up. I was told it was a good block by another racer. Now maybe he knew about it or maybe he didn't. The fact is machine shops, (GOOD ONES), know what to look for. How to find it and cave the equipment to do it.. I owned and operated 2 auto repair shops in my day and I would never tell anyone that yes or no just re-ring it. Not something 30 plus years old with nobody knows how many miles or internal condition..

Your mechanic probably does not have hot tank equipment either. This is a must on your old motor.

I'm not trying to get under your skin. Just trying to help you make good decisions so you will be happy with your build and car.. Their isn't much worse than doing and paying for something twice..

Have the machine shop check the block, crank and heads throughly. Once you know exactly what you have and what can be done with it you can start to put a build plan together.

Once you know what is what you will need to tell us what you plan to do with your car to better help you come up with a build.

[raull]

Thx you SteveP

I get your message. I am not taking it personal. I really appreciate your input, and thats what I want. I am not a mechanic, nor I pretend to be. 

I will post another thread, to start fresh after block comes back from the machinist. I just wanted to get a heads up on what to do, and what to get for the block. Example, if they tell me the block needs to be cut, let them do it? Crankshaft? I was thinking of getting the heads ported. To what extent I don't know. Just things I am thinking. First is the Block find out what is the status on it. 

[Steve P.]

Thx you SteveP

I get your message. I am not taking it personal. I really appreciate your input, and thats what I want. I am not a mechanic, nor I pretend to be. 

I will post another thread, to start fresh after block comes back from the machinist. I just wanted to get a heads up on what to do, and what to get for the block. Example, if they tell me the block needs to be cut, let them do it? Crankshaft? I was thinking of getting the heads ported. To what extent I don't know. Just things I am thinking. First is the Block find out what is the status on it. 

Now your cookin..   

So what do you want from this build or to be more precise, from your car?? You can go anywhere from MILD to WILD.... 

On the heads, depending what you want,,,, you are better off buying the Eddy aluminum heads as any trick work on the heads will cost you about the same as the Eddy's and you will get much more out of them for about the same cost.. There is much to discus on every build. It all starts with what you want out of it and a solid foundation. That being good news from the machine shop..

Let us know..