1975 RV 440- is it worth using?

[rhorton]

I came across a REALLY nice shape 1975 440 with a cast crank. It runs incredible. I'm going to look at using it in a b body project car. Any suggestions on what to do with it to make it a bit more "usable"?

it had AC so I assume its going to need a bunch of crank/AC bracketry to get it to work, Anyone got some suggestions on a complete "front end kit" to make it work?

Does the tailshaft of a 68 b body bolt right onto the back of the 1975 RV 727 trans?

Should I jsut leave the cam that is in it since its going to cost me $200 to get another 20hp?

What should the compression be on that 1975 motor?

Is it even worth it to put headers on this thing? thsi is the first "budget build" I've done and i'm curious if it even makes any sense to do it.

The car is set up for a 22" radiator. If I have a shroud for the 22" one I have should I even bother trying to modify the core support it to work with the 26" radiator I have from a 68GTX?

Thanks as always guys.

 

[jenkins71]

T believe you can buy a complete "front end kit" on 440source.com. Also, check out Bouchillon Performance for brackets and pulleys as well.

 

[IQ52]

Look inside your quote.

I came across a REALLY nice shape 1975 440 with a cast crank. It runs incredible. I'm going to look at using it in a b body project car. Any suggestions on what to do with it to make it a bit more "usable"?

It's "usable" as is.

it had AC so I assume its going to need a bunch of crank/AC bracketry to get it to work, Anyone got some suggestions on a complete "front end kit" to make it work?

Here

http://www.bouchillonperformance.com/engine_pulleys

And here

http://www.bouchillonperformance.com/alternator_brackets



Does the tailshaft of a 68 b body bolt right onto the back of the 1975 RV 727 trans?

Yes, but you must change the mainshaft also.

Should I jsut leave the cam that is in it since its going to cost me $200 to get another 20hp?

Unanswerable as asked.

What should the compression be on that 1975 motor?

7.5-7.8:1

Is it even worth it to put headers on this thing? thsi is the first "budget build" I've done and i'm curious if it even makes any sense to do it.

Yes

The car is set up for a 22" radiator. If I have a shroud for the 22" one I have should I even bother trying to modify the core support it to work with the 26" radiator I have from a 68GTX?

I would go 26"

Thanks as always guys.

 

[GTX MATT]

If its a good running 440 its worth using. Its hard to find an early engine that isn't worn out. Are you planning to rebuild it eventually? Price is important here.

Headers will make more power. The RV engines come with the same cam as all non HP 440s, so the gain won't be the same as if you had more cam (the duration on these cams are around 196 degrees @ .050). I would run the 1 3/4 summit headers, which are hedmans and like $150. If you want a little bit more power the small summit cam is cheap and basically the equivalent of a stock HP cam. You will need to upgrade springs though.

The true compression on these engines is generally 7.5-8:1.

You need to change the tailshaft on the trans, which is involved. But the RV trans have good internals like the early HP and 440 transmissions.

You can get away with the 22 inch radiator, you may run into cooling issues if you don't know how to tune an engine though. You don't really need to mod the radiator support for the 26 inch radiator. I've got a 26 inch on my 22 core support. It covers basically nothing on one side and around 3/4 of an inch on the other. I've got no cooling issues.

You should be able to remove all of the A/C stuff and run a belt for the alternator and waterpump and then another for the power steering. You will just have unused pulley slots. Or you can buy the repop pulleys.

 

[dvw]

I agree go ahead and use it. The trans swap is easy, but make sure you use either 71 and up output shaft. If the replacement is an earlier output use the front planetary that came with it. Though the spline count is the same the pressure angle at the planetary/shaft area is different. This swap will take less than an hour.
Doug

 

[mopar 3 B]

Piston to deck height on my 76 motor home engine is not that much different than the 70 440 car engine both flat top big difference must be the head. Also Dodge used truck motors emissions exempt not to be confused with light truck engines in their RV van chassis till 77 after 76 there was a significant power loss due to lower compression engines and emissions compliancy. Strap 8000 lbs. behind your stock HP 440 powered and weight B body's and let us know what your times are. By the way I have both engines and was surprised to when I had to rebuild the RV engine due to a broken crankshaft.

 

[Meep-Meep]

The short answer is yes.

Compression is in the tank but you can get some cams that will maintain or actually boost cylinder pressure. If you break it down for a rebuild then you can certainly change pistons, cam and heads and have a great engine. Or do nothing and put a turbo on it. There was a kit available for motor homes and I bet you can do pretty well with that for not much money.

 

[Kern Dog]

I got a FREE 440 from an RV that a guy was going to send to the junkyard. The engine had less than 50,000 miles on it. I took a set of '452 heads, had them rebuilt and milled .050. I had a MP 284/484 cam in the shed, so I used it with new lifters.
The engine went in a 74 Dodge 1 ton pickup. The truck was originally equipped with a 360 2 barrel, so the 440 really was a step up. I could fry the 33" tire (One wheel peel Dana 60 with 4.10 ) for a hundred feet or more, well into second gear.