what CARB & COMBO for my 440 ? keep bottom end at 50K miles ?

[rav440]

im looking for imput for my 440 build ,the 440 short block has been in limbo for a year now  the deal with the ported 516s feel thru so know its back to the drawing board .
im planing on useing either a set of #346 mild port 2.14 / 1.81 valve heads or the new aluminum heads from 440SOURCE 

what size & type carb do i want to go with ?

3 i have picked out are all mechanical no vacum or electric

DAVINCI 830 CFM
DEMON 750 CFM but i think thats way to small 
DEMON 850 CFM

intake will be either

HOLLEY STREET DOMINATOR 
EDELBROCK TM7
EDELBROCK TORKER
EDELBROCK CH4B

igintion :

MSD DIGITAL 6
MSD BLASTER SS coil
MSD 8546 BILLET DISTRIBUTOR
MALLORY UNILITE DISTRIBUTOR this i already have but still thing about going MSD 

the bottom end is still in tact with 50K miles on it , steel crank .030 pistons " notched out more by me " the 440 ran perfect before i took it apart , so should i leave it be or tear it the rest of the way down and put new pistons and bearings in ? or do you think 50K is fine to stay with ?the 440 have been sitting for a year know opened up " no TOP END " but i sprayed it down with WD-40 and wrapped it in plastic garbage bags .

thanks RANDY 

[rav440]

here are a few pics of the 440 as it sets with the pistions NOTCHED BIGGER

[firefighter3931]

Randy, the cylinder walls look to be in great shape and the speedpro pistons are right where you want them to be. Did you inspect the main/rod bearings ?  I would go with a closed chamber aluminum head and dial the compression in at 10.5:1 for pump gas. 

What stall, gears is the GTX running ? Have you decided on a cam yet ? Hydraulic or solid ?



Ron

[rav440]

RON , the bearings were never checked , i was /am trying to keep this to a tight bugget but the 440 ran fantastic before i made into little pieces . im not sure about the cam  it was going to be a custom grind solid cam 252 @ 50 by SCOTT BROWN and a PTF 9.5 converter but thats all changed now 

the gears are 3.55

thanks RANDY

[firefighter3931]

RON , the bearings were never checked , i was /am trying to keep this to a tight bugget but the 440 ran fantastic before i made into little pieces . im not sure about the cam  it was going to be a custom grind solid cam 252 @ 50 by SCOTT BROWN and a PTF 9.5 converter but thats all changed now 

the gears are 3.55

thanks RANDY

Randy, a 252@.050 cam will want more gear than a 3.55  The PTC 9.5 converter is a nice piece and you need to match up the cam's duration with your stall speed and final gearing for best results. 

Personally, i would pull a few main & rod caps to see what the bearings look like. 

Was the engine balanced ? Were the rod bolts upgraded when it was rebuilt ?



Ron

[rav440]

RON , the bearings were never checked , i was /am trying to keep this to a tight bugget but the 440 ran fantastic before i made into little pieces . im not sure about the cam  it was going to be a custom grind solid cam 252 @ 50 by SCOTT BROWN and a PTF 9.5 converter but thats all changed now 

the gears are 3.55

thanks RANDY

Randy, a 252@.050 cam will want more gear than a 3.55  The PTC 9.5 converter is a nice piece and you need to match up the cam's duration with your stall speed and final gearing for best results. 

Personally, i would pull a few main & rod caps to see what the bearings look like. 

Was the engine balanced ? Were the rod bolts upgraded when it was rebuilt ?



Ron

RON , i dont know about either  the original owner doesnt remember what he had done back in the mid 80s . i may just tear it down and go with all new stuf just to be safe .
what was the stock CFM carb on the 440s ? is an 830 or 850 good for a .030 440 ?

thanks RANDY

[firefighter3931]

RON , i dont know about either  the original owner doesnt remember what he had done back in the mid 80s . i may just tear it down and go with all new stuf just to be safe .
what was the stock CFM carb on the 440s ? is an 830 or 850 good for a .030 440 ?

thanks RANDY

Randy, if you want to run the stock bottom end then it would be wise to limit the rpm's to 5800 or so. Those 6-pack pistons are heavy and with stock rods with unknown rod bolts and possibly no balancing that would be the safest way to go, inmo. Use a hydraulic cam and keep it simple...no need to get too fancy.

If you were going to go through the trouble of new pistons and rods then you would allmost be all the way to going stroker. That is probably not in the budget but you could consider it later on.


The Proform 750 dp would be a good carb for this engine combination. I have one on mine and it flowed 830 despite being rated at 750cfm.  With the milder gearing a Performer Rpm would be the best choice followed closely by the street dominator.



Ron

[rav440]

RON , thanks  it all depends on $ somebody owes me a few bucks , im not sure if il ever collect it  but if i do then the will set the path for the 440 . as for now it looks as thou it will be going back to stock  . with a few after market goodies .

what do you mean by stroker with rods and pistons ?

thanks for the help RANDY 

[firefighter3931]

RON , thanks  it all depends on $ somebody owes me a few bucks , im not sure if il ever collect it  but if i do then the will set the path for the 440 . as for now it looks as thou it will be going back to stock  . with a few after market goodies .

what do you mean by stroker with rods and pistons ?

thanks for the help RANDY 

Randy, by "stroker" i meant to say that buying new pistons and rods puts you allmost all the way towards the purchase of a stroker rotating assembly. If you're gonna upgrade the rods/pistons....you might as well spend a few hundred extra and do the crank. A 500 inch motor costs the same to build as a 440....other than the crank.

There's nothing wrong with your block and you can still make descent power....you just can't buzz it up to 6500 and expect it to live. A good set of heads, cam, intake, carb and you could make 475hp pretty easy and have it reliable. You just need to keep the rpms in check and it will live just fine. 



Ron

[rav440]

RON , thanks maybe in the  future a 500 stroker will be in the works  i thought you had to do a lot more to make  a stroker motor . anyway for now its just going to be a low buck build .
so a DIVINCI 830 cfm carb is to big for now ? 

thanks RANDY 

[firefighter3931]

anyway for now its just going to be a low buck build .
so a DIVINCI 830 cfm carb is to big for now ? 

thanks RANDY 

Randy, what are you planning to do ? Keep the reworked iron heads and work around them ? What stall is your converter ?

The 830cfm carb would work good on a dual plane intake manifold. That would be my choice with the 3.55 gears and stock type heads (CH4B or Performer RPM). The cam would depend on your stall speed.



Ron

[rav440]

RON ,
anyway im all over the place on thinking what to do with the 440 . i have a chance to get a 69 383 unassembled all machine work done 10 years ago .030 TRW flat top  pistons with a .010 under cast crank , SEALED POWER rebuld kit , rebuilt oil pump . CRANE HYD 471/286 cam , EDELBROCK true roller timming chain , reconditioned rods ,  chrome valve covers and oil pan & the 346 mild port job heads with 2.14 / 1.81 valves { the SPRINGS HAVE BEEN UNDER TENSION for 10 years } im not sure if thats good ?  all for $1000.00 or maybe a bit less hopefuly

anyway i planned on using the 346 heads , cam . oil pump and timming chain on my 440 with a CH4B or HOLLEY SD intake and a GOOD CARB - NO EDELBROCK i found a DIVINCI 830 cfm for $400.00 thats why i asked . as for the stal speed , i recon 3200-3400 stall or a 10-11 inch converter . anything less would be stock  and then selling the rest of the 383 to recoup $$$

most likely ill tear the 440 down have it hot tanked magna fluxed , gone over and rebuilt JUST TO BE SAFE , ID HATE LIKE HELL to DESTROY a #S matching block becasue i CHEAPED OUT . so till more money come in it will stay as is .
i do want the parts on hand to do a mild rebuild in case i have to sell the runner if something drastic would happen .

what id relly like is the 440 sourse heads big cam TORKER or TM7 or HOLLEY SD with a 950 CFM and a 9.5 PTF convertor . but thats upto the future and cash flow .

RANDY

[firefighter3931]

Randy,

here's what i would do ; Pull the motor down and find another block...that way you have your numbers matching block safe and sound in case something bad should happen. Have the rods reworked and ARP rod bolts installed and have it all balanced up and install it in the new block. Then you can decide on the rest of the build and proceed accordingly....

Honestly, the 440 Source heads look like the best way to go instead of re-working stock heads which will cost close to the same amount as the parts & labor on a stock head. 


Sorry to hear about things not panning out with the other motor. 



Ron