Superb Bee
Well-Known Member
I would consider all costs, with a hemi installation you need a few hemi specific parts, the engines arent cheap nor the parts that follow it. Although your car is worth more with an elephant under the hood, and ITS A HEMI!!!! So that opens an entire new world of apparel you get to wear, hats, and shirts, and all kinds of pins they sell at the car shows, lol...
I personally love the 6 pack big block, I have owned them both, and to me a stock 6 pack feels more powerful than the big girl, all over the rpm range, and if its a 4speed 6 pack, wow what fun!!!
440-6 will be more cost effective, But still not "cheap" - Since you are not doing a real v code car, I would grab an aluminum intake with the new holleys, and a fiberglass air cleaner figure thats around $2000 with linkage and lines, then a set of source aluminum heads $1000 , a source 500" rotating assembly $2250, pick the voodoo cam $200 that suits your needs, $90 for a melling m63hv, $50 of an is63 with bushing, felpro 2110 $65, grab some used sheet metal for $150ish (timing, oil, and valve covers), $60 CC 2109 timing set (3 bolt for lunati), bolt kit $50, ARP head and main bolts $250, carter 4862 $100, fuel pump rod $20, Taylor wires 74072 $65, plugs $35, you can spend another $300 on rockers, shaft, and pushrods, another $150 on a balancer.
So thats like $7000 in parts with no block
Then I know a gentleman that sells 440 (early webbing blocks) for $700 all done, bored, painted either blue or orange, cam bearings, freeze plugs installed (need to send him a piston for honing)... So at $8000 you are very close (most builders get $1000 range to assemble and minor machine, then figure oil is $50, and I think I would have them clean up the source heads, maybe valve job and port match the heads and intake)... Figure $9K done and done..
That is what a fresh 440 (non stroker) 6 pack with an oem 6 pack, 906 heads, and a air cleaner would cost you, easily...
I personally like the cast iron intake, old carbs, cast iron heads, and as much looking like an old 6 pack as possible, but you can easily get 500 reliable horse out of the above setup, pump gas, good idle, good vacuum for power brakes...
My personal advice is, I had 400 hp 440's and 500+ on autos and on sticks (as many guys here have) and unless you are racing, don't get hung up on the numbers, if your a secure man looking for a nice car to drive, build a strong reliable motor, **** the numbers (its hard not to get at least 400). Granted racing is another story, but you will be hard pressed to have a lot more fun in a 500hp car vs a 400hp car on the street... being honest, IN A LOT of cases on street tires that extra 100hp will cost you time in the quarter mile.
Don't flame me for this guys, I just remember the first 500+ hp 440 I had built and installed in my 72 rr clone when I was a lot younger it was replacing a stout 400hp range 383, and the change wasn't what I expected, still spun the **** out of them 50 series Bf's, lol...
I regretted changing it with in a month, I spent like $4000 on the motor and sold my 383 for $800, I wanted it back, lol, ever since then I never got hung up on hp, once you pass 390hp on street tires with no traction control, your just trying to make up for other short comings, lol..
GRANTED if you are racing, more hp is more better... but for a street car, cruiser, burnout machine, 400hp in any b or e body is FUN!!!
That said the above list will easily get you to 500.
Ideally some of the best deals on motors I have gotten was projects others built, I just grabbed a 383 fresh rebuild, 69 hp motor, never ran, +.030, decent parts,500 lift tappet cam, new holley on top of it, crank turned and balanced, 906 heads, aluminum intake for $1500, he paid that in machine work, balancing, and assembly... not sure what I am going to do with it yet, just couldnt pass it up, my builder called me and told me about it, he didnt build it, guy decided to go 440, car came with rebuilt never fired 383, I had my guy check it out for $100 and he said its good...
I personally love the 6 pack big block, I have owned them both, and to me a stock 6 pack feels more powerful than the big girl, all over the rpm range, and if its a 4speed 6 pack, wow what fun!!!
440-6 will be more cost effective, But still not "cheap" - Since you are not doing a real v code car, I would grab an aluminum intake with the new holleys, and a fiberglass air cleaner figure thats around $2000 with linkage and lines, then a set of source aluminum heads $1000 , a source 500" rotating assembly $2250, pick the voodoo cam $200 that suits your needs, $90 for a melling m63hv, $50 of an is63 with bushing, felpro 2110 $65, grab some used sheet metal for $150ish (timing, oil, and valve covers), $60 CC 2109 timing set (3 bolt for lunati), bolt kit $50, ARP head and main bolts $250, carter 4862 $100, fuel pump rod $20, Taylor wires 74072 $65, plugs $35, you can spend another $300 on rockers, shaft, and pushrods, another $150 on a balancer.
So thats like $7000 in parts with no block
Then I know a gentleman that sells 440 (early webbing blocks) for $700 all done, bored, painted either blue or orange, cam bearings, freeze plugs installed (need to send him a piston for honing)... So at $8000 you are very close (most builders get $1000 range to assemble and minor machine, then figure oil is $50, and I think I would have them clean up the source heads, maybe valve job and port match the heads and intake)... Figure $9K done and done..
That is what a fresh 440 (non stroker) 6 pack with an oem 6 pack, 906 heads, and a air cleaner would cost you, easily...
I personally like the cast iron intake, old carbs, cast iron heads, and as much looking like an old 6 pack as possible, but you can easily get 500 reliable horse out of the above setup, pump gas, good idle, good vacuum for power brakes...
My personal advice is, I had 400 hp 440's and 500+ on autos and on sticks (as many guys here have) and unless you are racing, don't get hung up on the numbers, if your a secure man looking for a nice car to drive, build a strong reliable motor, **** the numbers (its hard not to get at least 400). Granted racing is another story, but you will be hard pressed to have a lot more fun in a 500hp car vs a 400hp car on the street... being honest, IN A LOT of cases on street tires that extra 100hp will cost you time in the quarter mile.
Don't flame me for this guys, I just remember the first 500+ hp 440 I had built and installed in my 72 rr clone when I was a lot younger it was replacing a stout 400hp range 383, and the change wasn't what I expected, still spun the **** out of them 50 series Bf's, lol...
I regretted changing it with in a month, I spent like $4000 on the motor and sold my 383 for $800, I wanted it back, lol, ever since then I never got hung up on hp, once you pass 390hp on street tires with no traction control, your just trying to make up for other short comings, lol..
GRANTED if you are racing, more hp is more better... but for a street car, cruiser, burnout machine, 400hp in any b or e body is FUN!!!
That said the above list will easily get you to 500.
Ideally some of the best deals on motors I have gotten was projects others built, I just grabbed a 383 fresh rebuild, 69 hp motor, never ran, +.030, decent parts,500 lift tappet cam, new holley on top of it, crank turned and balanced, 906 heads, aluminum intake for $1500, he paid that in machine work, balancing, and assembly... not sure what I am going to do with it yet, just couldnt pass it up, my builder called me and told me about it, he didnt build it, guy decided to go 440, car came with rebuilt never fired 383, I had my guy check it out for $100 and he said its good...
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