Building a 440

[Philip Lochner]

I have two Interceptors - as per my signature.

The red 73 is significantly more powerful than the EFI'ed '74. The reason, I believe, is that the 73 has a high compression engine, and possibly a better cam. The 74 is still the original low compression (lame cam?) engine.

Whilst the 74 certainly is powerful enough with more torque than is needed for any hill in 4th, I do want it to be at least as powerful as the 73. Also, the very reason I did the whole EFI thing was with efficiency in mind. The last TWO tanks on my return journey from our 4000km trip gave better than 8km/L (18.8 mpg US, 22.6mpg UK).

More power and more efficiency (high compression) is always good yes??

So I bought myself another 440 engine (a pile of spares rather) which came with flat top Keith Black 0.04" pistons and started building another engine. So far I've done the following:
1) Bored the block for the 40thou pistons;
2) fitted new cam bushes;
3) Had new freeze plugs fitted on block and heads;
4) Heads (Open chamber) lightly skimmed, K-liner valve guides fitted, valves seated properly;
5) Bought new parts: COMP Cams K21-223-4 kit (https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/ ... /overview/), big ends, mains, new rockers and rocker shafts, gaskets - from Summit Racing.

I've never built a 440 before (Rover V8 and Jag V12s I have) but I have friends who has, an will rely on their guidance to assemble this engine.

I'll be getting the block and all the parts I bought this week and will then start assembling the engine.

Another adventure!

[Basil McKinley]

Hi Philip,

My reading on this subject some time back lead me to understand that heads with a closed chamber design and zero deck height pistons with a 40 thou composite head gasket would give better power/efficiency than than the open chamber heads,

Regards,
Basil

[Philip Lochner]

Was advised likewise, but this is the hand I was dealt. So now we'll see.

[Joerg]

https://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Max-Pe ... 1613250924" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Step by step from one of the Mopar engine Gurus. Highly recommended.

Joerg

[bkbridges]

Philip,
It sounds like you are starting with a decent combination of parts. I am not a BBM Guru, but Ive built many of them. The .040 overbore is a bit large without doing a sonic check on the block to make sure you've got a good wall thickness left. .030 is usually max without "sonicing" the block. The 440s can be a bit touchy re: bore distortion. Closed chamber heads (stock 1967 et al) are a good way to bring compression up on a stock low compression pistoned motor, but if you've got flattops all the way up to the deck the closed chamber heads will offer too high a compression ratio for pump gas and port wise have less desirable flow characteristics than the open chamber (452 et al) style heads. For best efficiency and power on the street I would highly recommend an hydraulic roller cam with a 112-114 LSA. Wide LSA and short duration = street driveability with good vacuum. The opening and closing ramp rate increase when using a hydraulic roller cam will provide really snappy acceleration! Your duration numbers on the comp cam you described are good for street EFI, but I would go with more lift (mid .5s). Lift doesnt reduce driveability and will increase HP and torque.
The oiling system on the 440 is good to about 6000rpm, and benefits from installing a Hemi pickup in the pan (bigger diameter) by re-tapping the block oil inlet port to the larger size. Likewise a high capacity pan is a good safety item if you want to rev your motor past 5K. Piston ring gap is important based on the type of piston you use. For the KB hypereutectices you MUST follow the mfgs instructions closely if using fie to fit rings. 500+hp with excellent street manners is easily obtained. With your cam choice (much like the stock 440 six pack) you are in the high 300s to lower 400s...
Have fun!
Bruce

[Philip Lochner]

Thank you Bruce

As it is, I've handed over the build of this engine to someone I regard as more experienced than me, with deeper knowledge of the Mopar motor than me. Already he found that we should use new valves and valve seats which I've ordered.

I can not attend to this engine at present as I'm rebuilding a V12 E-type for a friend and the mopar bits were lying here all exposed and probably invisibly rusting away although we do have a very dry climate.

[Jorrocks]

For best efficiency and power on the street I would highly recommend an hydraulic roller cam with a 112-114 LSA. Wide LSA and short duration = street driveability with good vacuum

Any specific recommendations Bruce?

[bkbridges]

You can order a standard cam or a custom cam from most mfgs. Crane makes a couple of very nice hydraulic rollers:
HR222/339-2s-12 is a good cam for a mild motor with 9.8-10:1 compression. Really wakes up the bottom end.
HR230/352-2s-12 is a bigger cam with more duration. It can help you make well over 500hp with the right heads and pistons on a un stroked 440 build while still maintaining good street manners. Both cams make acceptable vacuum at idle with the HR222 making deep vacuum! If you are running a manual trans or an automatic with a high (3000+rpm) stall converter (Like me) the HR234 cam with longer duration is a solid performer.
If ordering a custom cam, You need to order it based on your combination of parts, including transmission/converter, rear end ratio, tire size, as well as compression ratio and head type.
A lot of manufacturers (comp etc.) sell narrow LSA cams (106-110) as their standard (XR274HR et al) which will bring the torque up a bit faster, at the expense of idle quality and vacuum. With a big motor (440cuin) torque isnt as big an issue as a small motor. Widening the LSA to 112-114 (Comp custom order) is the best bet for driveability (power brakes, off idle enrichment etc.) for the street. If going to EFI, even more reasons arise to increase the LSA for efficiency as well as performance. There are a lot of good articles regarding camshaft selection, one of the better ones was last months hotrod magazine (camshaft shootout)...
Bruce