440 main stud girdles

[LeesRT]

Has anyone compared the various 440 main stud girdles out there.  I've seen everything from 1/4" thick to 1/2", to 3/4" thick, machined, waterjet cut, etc.  Also how about billet steel main caps vs. ductile iron billet machined main caps.  My goal is a strong running 440, stock stroke crank, Edelbrock Alum. heads, and around 500 hp.  I just want to make sure the block is plenty strong.  Any input would be great.  Thanks.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Has anyone compared the various 440 main stud girdles out there.  I've seen everything from 1/4" thick to 1/2", to 3/4" thick, machined, waterjet cut, etc.  Also how about billet steel main caps vs. ductile iron billet machined main caps.  My goal is a strong running 440, stock stroke crank, Edelbrock Alum. heads, and around 500 hp.  I just want to make sure the block is plenty strong.  Any input would be great.  Thanks.

I'm putting a 1/4" girdle on mine.  Honestly, your stock bottom end should hold out until about 750 hp from what I've learned.  I'm stroking mine to 512 but only looking at about 500 hp/600 tq but plan on opening the aluminum heads more later and what to accommodate that now rather than diving into the bottom end again.  If you want to put one in 1/4" I'm sure is more that fine.  The hemi's put out about 525 hp from the factory so you're not pushing it hard enough to get too concerned.

As for main caps, if you replace them with billet you're looking at some serious time on the line bore machine which will as a lot of cost, probably $600-1000.  Again, if you're looking at 500 hp you're quite safe with the stock setup, but the girdle won't hurt anything.

Good luck!

[LeesRT]

Where did you get the 1/4" girdle from (make/company)?  Just curious.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Well, I bought mine from 440Source just because it was easy considering I was buying my heads and crank from them.  I can't say anything about the quality yet because we haven't gotten it out of the box yet.  There are plenty of manufacturers out there and Firefighter Ron I'm sure will have good input on this but I'll try to report on mine once we get everything together.  Sorry I can't help you more on that.

The thing I would suggest the most is simply going with ARP bolts.   

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Just looking through the Proven Engine Combo's area for some of the more significant builds and not one that I glanced at said anything about girdles so, one, I can't find any help for you there regarding manufacturers and, two, that should also tell you that you probably don't need to be too concerned about it.  Anyway, I'll keep a watch for anything and maybe Ron will stop by soon and give you some insight too.   

[LeesRT]

Thanks for your input so far.  I'll tune in to see what others have done as well.

[firefighter3931]

  My goal is a strong running 440, stock stroke crank, Edelbrock Alum. heads, and around 500 hp.  I just want to make sure the block is plenty strong.  Any input would be great.  Thanks.

For that type of power the stock caps are fine. Girdles help mostly with cap walk (not cap bounce) which can be a problem with high HP type builds using the stock block.

Fwiw, i have the stock caps & ARP main bolts in my 446 (540hp) with Edelbrock heads. 


Ron

[Challenger340]

  My goal is a strong running 440, stock stroke crank, Edelbrock Alum. heads, and around 500 hp.  I just want to make sure the block is plenty strong.  Any input would be great.  Thanks.

For that type of power the stock caps are fine. Girdles help mostly with cap walk (not cap bounce) which can be a problem with high HP type builds using the stock block.

Fwiw, i have the stock caps & ARP main bolts in my 446 (540hp) with Edelbrock heads. 


Ron

Ron's Bang ON here with this !
Unless you are gonna approach a Higher HP level or beat it like "Red Headed Step Child" on a daily basis, the Stock Caps with ARP Studs are Fine !