Budget conscious Performance Upgrades

[Curiousyellow71]

Not much I can add, but for the serious econo budget I'd see what shape the '78 440 is in. "IF" it std and can be rerung I would hunt down pistons out of a 440 made before '70 and swap them. The 78 pistons are identical just low compression. If that's a no go then spend the money on boring and new pistons.
Pretty much every head with big valves is better then a 516, no matter what replace. GREAT PROJECT!

 

[RonnieK]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I would like to hear from others what known upgrades (with a lower budget) I should be on the hunt for. I am 23 years old and only had my Coronet for 3 years and I believe I’ve made a post about it a while back but I’ll go over what the current setup is

1967 Dodge Coronet 440
- 1978 440 Block, crank, rods and pistons
- Purple shaft 474 Camshaft with new stock springs
- “516” closed chamber heads
- Edelbrock Torker 440
- Holley 700 cfm Double Pumper
- stock refurbished hei distributor with GM module
- iron flywheel and diaphragm style clutch
- 1.75 long tube headers
- 2.5” exhaust with purple hornies mufflers
- 1964 or 65 23 spline a833 (flange style)
- Yukon 489 case with 3.23 suregrip
- 28 x 8.5” Hoosier Slicks
- power steering
- manual 10” drums front and rear

As the car sits without me in it it weighs 3910 lbs. I know for sure that the stock pistons need to be addressed and the cam is very small. This was the first time I took it to the drag strip and it ran 15.154 at 91 mph. I will that elevation was over a mile so in reality it should be a high 14s car. Just wondering what would be my best price to performance upgrade path since I’m rebuilding the motor and trans this summer.

Thank you in advance!

View attachment 1815385


EDIT: To make a few points clear and my current baselines:
Best E/T: 15.157 @91.74mph
I have made 15 passes averaging 15.362
I am looking to stay under $5000
My E/T goal is low 13s at the least

Some thoughts from myself. Even at 3900, I'm surprised you're not well into the 14's with a 440. You are correctly tuned on timing and jetting, hitting shifts?

As far as the $5000 grand goes...It's not going to get you to where you wanna be for only 5k but I'd start with...
- better cam but you're already on this.
- MSD stuff. Ignition box and surrounding electronics.
- Caltracs.
- Most bang for the buck is going to be lightening the car. It'll help with parts in the long term too. Fiberglass pieces. Start at the hood, deck lid, doors and eventually front quarters.
- I'd look at lightweight disc brakes. I bet them drums are heavyyyyy.
- 4.10 gear.

 

[Kern Dog]

Actually, a 10" front drum setup is lighter than an 11" front disc by quite a bit. Even an 11" front drum setup is....
In 2022, I switched from a stock 75-77 Cordoba 12" front disc setup to a 13" kit from Dr Diff and shed over 20 lbs. Aluminum calipers and hubs as well as mounting brackets.
I do agree though. Less weight is a feature that helps out with everything. The car will accelerate faster, stop and handle better too.

 

[mavwreck]

Not much I can add, but for the serious econo budget I'd see what shape the '78 440 is in. "IF" it std and can be rerung I would hunt down pistons out of a 440 made before '70 and swap them. The 78 pistons are identical just low compression. If that's a no go then spend the money on boring and new pistons.
Pretty much every head with big valves is better then a 516, no matter what replace. GREAT PROJECT!

I have a ported set of 906s that I recently acquired from a labor trade. Sadly 2 of the exhaust ports have helicoils and one has a broken stud. Still wondering if it’s worth it to get them fixed up. When I originally put on the 516s I did note that the motor had legitimately no ring ridge, 4.320 bore and even some cross hatching! Who’s to say what a year of relatively hard driving has done to my suspected low mileage 440 but I’m thinking a good motor inspection is def on the list

 

[mavwreck]

Actually, a 10" front drum setup is lighter than an 11" front disc by quite a bit. Even an 11" front drum setup is....
In 2022, I switched from a stock 75-77 Cordoba 12" front disc setup to a 13" kit from Dr Diff and shed over 20 lbs. Aluminum calipers and hubs as well as mounting brackets.
I do agree though. Less weight is a feature that helps out with everything. The car will accelerate faster, stop and handle better too.

I’ve been thinking discs more for safety. That car is squirrelly after 110! (I mean officer I was only doing 70!)

 

[padam]

How would I know you were referring to yourself?? Sorry you feel that buying an Escalade is a "suckers" move....not sure why...???? Perhaps no more so than spending $$$, racing 1/4 mile at a time.....but to each his own volition.....as noted previously, I prefer to share my good fortunes with my Lady....doing things together.......making memories.......I guess it's a matter of differing philosophies....
BOB RENTON

Who says you can’t do both?

 

[dvw]

These days my budget is a lot bigger than before. But my roots are going quick with budget pieces. Since we live close I could look at your 906 heads and give you an idea. Might be able to get the broken stud out. If the short block is in decent shape a full rebuild will yield the least gain of power per dollar. Unless its just a ball hone with rings and bearings. Used parts are your friend with a budget. This might be a great fit and its local. Might be a scam. But you won't know unless you check.

452 C.I. Stroker Mopar 400​

$4,500 Canton Michigan
Big block Mopar stoker Brand new Edle heads, intake, carb Comp cam, double roller, hydraulic lifters Diamond pistons Eagle rods Scat crank Milodon pan
Doug

 

[RJRENTON]

Who says you can’t do both?



View attachment 1816671⁸

TRUE.....but for me, not at a drag strip or race track.....rather at Peter Lugers's restaurant, Brooklyn New York or a Paris hotel, a village in Maui Hawaii......i did drag racing years ago....drag racing got old fairly quickly.....moved on to different venues .... to each his own.....
BOB RENTON

 

[padam]

TRUE.....but for me, not at a drag strip or race track.....rather at Peter Lugers's restaurant, Brooklyn New York or a Paris hotel, a village in Maui Hawaii......i did drag racing years ago....drag racing got old fairly quickly.....moved on to different venues .... to each his own.....
BOB RENTON

Yep, to each his own.

 

[Kern Dog]

TRUE.....but for me, not at a drag strip or race track.....rather at Peter Lugers's restaurant, Brooklyn New York or a Paris hotel, a village in Maui Hawaii......i did drag racing years ago....drag racing got old fairly quickly.....moved on to different venues .... to each his own.....
BOB RENTON

You sure seem to like bragging about what an opulent lifestyle you have. Since this is a car forum, how about telling us the many automotive things that you've done to your car lately? Have you swapped in a new cam or installed new brakes? How about those suspension upgrades?

 

[mavwreck]

These days my budget is a lot bigger than before. But my roots are going quick with budget pieces. Since we live close I could look at your 906 heads and give you an idea. Might be able to get the broken stud out. If the short block is in decent shape a full rebuild will yield the least gain of power per dollar. Unless its just a ball hone with rings and bearings. Used parts are your friend with a budget. This might be a great fit and its local. Might be a scam. But you won't know unless you check.

452 C.I. Stroker Mopar 400​

$4,500 Canton Michigan
Big block Mopar stoker Brand new Edle heads, intake, carb Comp cam, double roller, hydraulic lifters Diamond pistons Eagle rods Scat crank Milodon pan
Doug

I believe I’ve seen this engine on marketplace. It would for sure be a major bump in performance however I think I’m going to at least try to save the 440 if it’s still saveable. I also have a set of 70 HP pistons that I have been contemplating putting in as well. Just unsure if it’s worth it to put them in compared to a new set of silvolites. I’m finishing moving right now so I’ve found a lot of my stocked up goodies from the last 3 years!

 

[dvw]

TRUE.....but for me, not at a drag strip or race track.....rather at Peter Lugers's restaurant, Brooklyn New York or a Paris hotel, a village in Maui Hawaii......i did drag racing years ago....drag racing got old fairly quickly.....moved on to different venues .... to each his own.....
BOB RENTON

Drag racing gets old when you don't care about competition and hard work. It's way easier to sit at a computer and tell people they're wrong. Rather than offer constructive advise, help and suggestions. Maybe it's time to move to a different venue. Many have thought it, yes I said it.
Doug

 

[MarPar]

Drag racing gets old when you don't care about competition and hard work. It's way easier to sit at a computer and tell people they're wrong. Rather than offer constructive advise, help and suggestions. Maybe it's time to move to a different venue. Many have thought it, yes I said it.
Doug

 

[Curiousyellow71]

I believe I’ve seen this engine on marketplace. It would for sure be a major bump in performance however I think I’m going to at least try to save the 440 if it’s still saveable. I also have a set of 70 HP pistons that I have been contemplating putting in as well. Just unsure if it’s worth it to put them in compared to a new set of silvolites. I’m finishing moving right now so I’ve found a lot of my stocked up goodies from the last 3 years!

The 70 pistons should boost the compression into the 9's and the rings should match with the wear of your current pistons. Very cheap upgrade. Silvolite I think would be less compression and I don't know if the ring location matches your current wear pattern.
At one time we had a rerung 440 with the 70 pistons and a mp .474 cam, pocket ported 906s. I think it ran 13.7@103 in the quarter with 3 23s, stock stall and street tires. Deeper gears, convertor, and slicks 12s pretty easy.

 

[RJRENTON]

Drag racing gets old when you don't care about competition and hard work. It's way easier to sit at a computer and tell people they're wrong. Rather than offer constructive advise, help and suggestions. Maybe it's time to move to a different venue. Many have thought it, yes I said it.
Doug

Competition and hard work can be defined in several ways......yes, drag racing and everything that entails is one way, I diligently work almost every day the market is open, investing, analyzing, buying, selling stocks and commodities but it depends on the person, or their capital. As in building an engine, certain fundamentals are involved......like dimensions, clearances, degree settings of the cam and ignition advance, bolt torque, valve spring settings, cooling system components.....I use special,tools and criteria as well....like MS/Excel spread sheets, historical price points, activity level, price/earnings ratio, earnings forcast.....or like the time honored tradition of buying low, selling high......like launching at the "tree"....where reaction time is important...the time to buy and the time to sell.......is an important consideration. It's an "easy" way to make money, similarly, if the racer is sharp, he wins...if not, he doesn't. In spite of the recent down market conditions, I've accumulated ~ $ 39k year to date in profit, and with luck and do dilligence, I'll net ~ $ 100k, not including my initial investments. My competition is the rest of the NY market corporations on a larger scale, my work is based on the analysis of the companies I'm considering buying and holding, or not.. and at this time in my life, I prefer the mental activity vs the physical "hard work", plus it allows me to share the fruits of my success with my Lady. But, as you note, there are several ways to express one's self......winning races or making money.......I prefer the latter....but that’s just my philosophy, which, I'm sure, contradicts your philosophy......so, to that end, we'll each go our own way...doing what we like.......
Just my opinion....you've stated yours......
BOB RENTON.

 

[mavwreck]

The 70 pistons should boost the compression into the 9's and the rings should match with the wear of your current pistons. Very cheap upgrade. Silvolite I think would be less compression and I don't know if the ring location matches your current wear pattern.
At one time we had a rerung 440 with the 70 pistons and a mp .474 cam, pocket ported 906s. I think it ran 13.7@103 in the quarter with 3 23s, stock stall and street tires. Deeper gears, convertor, and slicks 12s pretty easy.

Super helpful! I’m planning on going for a 484 cam and a 3.91 gear but it might be a 13.000 with my luck lol!

 

[451Mopar]

I think the 516 heads are the small valve closed chamber heads?
With the small valves and ports, other changes will have less of an impact on power.

 

[BSB67]

Agree with what folks are saying.

Above I mentioned the KB237 pistons and an Eddy head, and keep your cam. This is exactly what my 4 speed GTX has: 12.66 @ 115 mph.

I have a complete set of 0.030” over 68-70 Speed Pro forged replacement pistons (flat top w/ the 2.030” CD) already hung on LY rods that I’d donate to the OPs cause here. You could slap this together on a forged/LY crank and run it without a balance job (I did). The problem is the OP likely has a cast crank motor. By the time he rounded up a crank, balancer, and flywheel, the free pistons will get expensive.

Maybe we can piece together a motor with donated parts for the kid?

Here is one of my pistons cleaned-up.

 

[BSB67]

And, stop picking on Bob. For me, the site’s entertainment value drops a little without him.

 

[dvw]

I forgot that I was just given a set of pistons and pins. They were in motor that had sat. The rings are rusted and stuck so they will take a long soaking to break them loose. Other than that they are in nice shape. Bigger dome so they are higher compression. Chrysler Big Block: Open/Close Chamber: 440 - Dome Top: 4.350 Bore - 3.750 Stroke - 14.00CC - #80762 - Ross Racing Pistons They were free to me. They can be free to you if you want them.
Doug