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440HP build plans. Suggestions? What do you run?

Cheapsunglasses said:
I ran a 625cfm 383 avs on my 440 until I could find a 440 carb. You couldn’t jab the throttle, and you couldn’t go full throttle, or it would be way too lean. Once I found a 750 cfm 440 afb, just changing the carb really woke up the car. That’s why I suggested carb before anything else. Also put an air to fuel ratio gauge so you can see what’s going on.
:thumbsup:

I know you’ll get a lot of different opinions on carbs. The Thermoquad is a good carb, a lot of people don’t see the full potential, and you can get them pretty cheap.

Or if you can afford it and hit the easy button. The Edelbrock avs2 800cfm is a good choice too. Buy the tuning kit that comes with it, it’ll have a chart to help based on your afr numbers, most of the time it’s just metering rod changes, and you don’t even have to take the entire carb apart to do that. Just loosen these screws, pull the cover to the side, and make your change.

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Thank you for the help! Im completely new to all this. This my first b-body and first big block car. So I’ll take all the suggestions and help i can get.
 
68Satellite440 said:
Thank you for the help! Im completely new to all this. This my first b-body and first big block car. So I’ll take all the suggestions and help i can get.
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This forum is full of great people with a lot of knowledge. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions, and don’t worry if anything “sounds stupid.” The way to learn is to ask.
:thumbsup:
 
Cheapsunglasses said:
This forum is full of great people with a lot of knowledge. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions, and don’t worry if anything “sounds stupid.” The way to learn is to ask.
:thumbsup:
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Definitely! Thats why i posted this. I figured someone had a similar setup and had chased some performance like i plan to. Wish I could afford to do it all at one but instead im making a lost of everything people recommend and build this car one paycheck at a time!
 
68Satellite440 said:
Definitely! Thats why i posted this. I figured someone had a similar setup and had chased some performance like i plan to. Wish I could afford to do it all at one but instead im making a lost of everything people recommend and build this car one paycheck at a time!
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That’s how I built mine, 5 years of one paycheck at a time. But I started with a roller. You’re way ahead of where I started, keep up the good work, and it’ll pay off!

DECEB596-C062-4B23-8841-E4C16F4BD01E.jpeg
 
No matter what combo you decide, do yourself a favor with the best street intake: Holley Street dominator. In my 50 years I've run Tarantula, Torker, Edelbrock performer, Weiand, Mopar performance, Steetmaster, blah, blah, others I can't think of... but other than my 6-bbl setups ? .... The Holley SD, I call it a Sweet dominator. My favorite.
 
WileERobby said:
No matter what combo you decide, do yourself a favor with the best street intake: Holley Street dominator. In my 50 years I've run Tarantula, Torker, Edelbrock performer, Weiand, Mopar performance, Steetmaster, blah, blah, others I can't think of... but other than my 6-bbl setups ? .... The Holley SD, I call it a Sweet dominator. My favorite.
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What carb are you running with it?
 
The thermoquad is carb that doesn’t get a lot of attention. People either love it because it’s cheap they made it work. Or they hate it because they can’t make it work. Here’s a brief history on them. Before big racing carbs like we have now, the TQ, and Chevys Rochester were used for performance because of its 850cfm rating. And the old direct connection racing manual actually states you can put a Holley on your car, but the TQ is the best performance single carburetor you can get.

 
I have a question guys that im very confused on. Ive been watching some Carb setup videos on my Edelbrock 1406. I feel that the mechanic that installed it did a half *** job and attached the throttle tension spring to a random bracket that appears to be a old A/C bracket. There was quite a bit of slack in the transmission kickdown linkage that i had to adjust.
Anyways, my actual question is, how important is the manifold vacuum line that goes down to the transmission modulator valve? Its been plugged off. From what I understand you only plug it off if you have manual trans? I have a 727.
 
The 727 does not use a vac mod, only a mechanical linkage from the carb to trans.
On your Edel carb [ good choice ], just cap any unused ports.
 
To my knowledge, 440’s came from the factory with a 12” converter behind them.
This is an area where a very noticeable improvement can be made.
 
PRHeads said:
To my knowledge, 440’s came from the factory with a 12” converter behind them.
This is an area where a very noticeable improvement can be made.
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My knowledge of converters is very limited but i do know there is different stall sizes. What do you recommend to move to? Im guessing that the next step up from stock would be like a 2500?
 
68Satellite440 said:
My knowledge of converters is very limited but i do know there is different stall sizes. What do you recommend to move to? Im guessing that the next step up from stock would be like a 2500?
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You will know immediately when you have built the engine to more than the convertor can handle. Under normal circumstances with everything working together, when you shift from park or neutral to any other gear, you will drop somewhere around 200 rpms and with slight acceleration the car will move. When the engine is to much for the convertor, when you shift into gear the engine will buck and the car will try to move without any acceleration. As PRHeads said 440's came with 12" converters and 1500-1700 stall. A good step up is a 10" convertor with 2200-2500 stall.
 
Jerry Hall said:
You will know immediately when you have built the engine to more than the convertor can handle. Under normal circumstances with everything working together, when you shift from park or neutral to any other gear, you will drop somewhere around 200 rpms and with slight acceleration the car will move. When the engine is to much for the convertor, when you shift into gear the engine will buck and the car will try to move without any acceleration. As PRHeads said 440's came with 12" converters and 1500-1700 stall. A good step up is a 10" convertor with 2200-2500 stall.
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There you are again Jerry! I swear you’re about as handy as a pocket on a shirt! Thanks again for the help!
 
Jerry Hall said:
You will know immediately when you have built the engine to more than the convertor can handle. Under normal circumstances with everything working together, when you shift from park or neutral to any other gear, you will drop somewhere around 200 rpms and with slight acceleration the car will move. When the engine is to much for the convertor, when you shift into gear the engine will buck and the car will try to move without any acceleration. As PRHeads said 440's came with 12" converters and 1500-1700 stall. A good step up is a 10" convertor with 2200-2500 stall.
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Just had a bunch of questions come to me the more I learn and plot my future build.
Do you happen to know the specs of the factory valves, springs, rods, rockers?
Are they 1.5 rockers? Would I benefit any from 1.6?
If i change to a slightly larger cam, say under .490 lift, would I need to change springs?
Does anyone know what the actual max limit of Cam lift on factory valve train? Im assuming under .500
 
68Satellite440 said:
Going through the motor is certainly on the list. I have suspension upgrades to do first, all new bushings, new leafs, bilsteins, etc. You saw my other posts, i have my share of body work to clean up as well but being mechanically sound is my main priority. Being able to drive the hell out of this car with 100 percent confidence.
The point of this post was i like to have my game plan and research done way ahead of time so i dont waste a bunch of time later, i just execute the plan as directed by the gearheads with the knowledge and learn everything i can along the way. I appreciate your input!
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I recommend to use the smallest carb that can still provide the CFMs your engine asks. With some head work to get her breathing better with an upgraded cam for a little more performance? The 600 is likely a little small. I run a Holley 750 with a similar build you are suggesting.

Bigger is not always better. Bigger has slower response time. True it's fractional of a %. But why give up anything?
 
Cojohnso1 said:
I recommend to use the smallest carb that can still provide the CFMs your engine asks. With some head work to get her breathing better with an upgraded cam for a little more performance? The 600 is likely a little small. I run a Holley 750 with a similar build you are suggesting.

Bigger is not always better. Bigger has slower response time. True it's fractional of a %. But why give up anything?
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Well I’ve certainly learned a book load since I first posted this, my current plan is a slightly larger cam than factory.
Comp Cam XE268H with 110 degree LSA seems close but still studying heavily on factory valve train lift tolerance.
Planning to port and polish the 906 heads, I think they can flow enough cfm to get me into the 450hp ballpark goal of mine.
I already have the long tube headers.
Im thinking the AVS2 800cfm carb.
Plan on entire teardown and checking for worn parts before assembly.
 
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