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help me pick my engine parts for my 440 rebuild

adk-roadrunner

adk-roadrunner

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so I am in the process of rebuilding a 440 that I am going to put in my 73 roadrunner and would like all the help I cn get on which parts to purchase. so what I am going for is a nice warmed up 440 with good power that will run on 89. As of right now I have a full felpro gasket set which came with engine and an aluminum weiand intake. I was planning on using stock rods and crank and the 452 heads that came on it if they'll work they will be overhauled at the very minimum, but I am open to other work I should have done to them. I was thinking keith black pistons and a comp cams cam kit that comes with springs ,lifters,retainers,timing gears and chain, and of course the cam but not sure what grind I would need. I already haved it all stripped and will be bringing it to my machine shop guy to have the block cleaned and checked and once i know if it needs to be bored i will need to order the pistons. thanks for your input
 
that lunati cam says it requires a minimum of 10.5 compression will that be a problem also I have 3.23 gears not sure if that makes a difference.
 
Personally I'd keep the cam pretty mild. For a driver on 89 gas your compression should probably be 9.0:1 but it should NOT be 10:1. 8.5:1 will do well on 87 so just a tad more for 89 seems about right. You want to be able to run the full advance and have about 160-170 PSI of cranking pressure so a milder cam will definitely be in order.

I'd look into this one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2192 It will be good with stock HP manifolds and will not require any modifications to the heads. A lot of people will say it's too small based on the lift but that's not the whole story. This cam is on a 112 lobe separation, which will give a bit more overlap than a factory cam on a 115 LS. The low lift and overall mild profile will allow the use of stock type springs and that will not stress the factory valve train beyond its limits. It should deliver good cylinder pressure, even with 8.5:1 CR and provide excellent vacuum to keep the carb happy. The stock intake manifold with a 650 CFM AFB will be just fine for street driving. You can enhance performance with a little bowl clean up on the heads and back cut the valves. 1-7/8" headers with 2.5" exhaust all the way out will be a plus also. And by all means dial in the timing curve or just get the MoPar perf electronic kit.

If you want to step up to 91 gas then throw a half point more compression at it and a little more cam. My own 440 build is a pretty darn good street engine and it has a small hydraulic cam. I consider it a slightly tweaked Magnum engine.
 
I am seriously considering using the shumacher headers they look really nice and supposedly fit really well which would make my swap alot easier and im sure they dont hurt performance. I'm not completely opposed to running 91 just figured it wouldnt hurt to build an engine that could run on the cheaper stuff when driving on long cruises and not pushing too hard. I am also definitely upgrading to a new electronic ignition I was looking at one of the msd kits or one of the mopar performance setup's.
 
adk-roadrunner said:
I am seriously considering using the shumacher headers they look really nice and supposedly fit really well which would make my swap alot easier and im sure they dont hurt performance. I'm not completely opposed to running 91 just figured it wouldnt hurt to build an engine that could run on the cheaper stuff when driving on long cruises and not pushing too hard. I am also definitely upgrading to a new electronic ignition I was looking at one of the msd kits or one of the mopar performance setup's.
Click to expand...

The first thing you are doing right is to plan the CR around the available fuel, or the fuel you want to use. Then plan the cam around the CR.
 
I built a 456 stroker for my charger with streetability in mind, I like the comp cam 21-224-4. It makes it's power in an rpm range that would be good for street use and will work with your heads and doesn't require alot of stall or gear. The big thing you want to keep in mind is what you would like your cruising rpm to be, if you want to cruise at for example 2,200 rpm and your cam makes it's power between 2,500-7,000 then it's not in the rpm range. First figure out the intended use and go from there. Comp cams Thumper series is designed to give you that choppy idle and still be streetable if that's what your looking for. I also am running 452's that I ported and installed the 2.14 1.81 valves, they flowed about the same as the stealth heads which is plenty for my cam. Resist the urge to go so big on the cam that it requires alot of stall and gear because they aren't alot of fun to cruise down the freeway in. Good luck
 
. I am researching all of the ideas I have been given and I appreciate all the help people give.
 
There are different approaches to get the same thing. I like using a bigger camshaft to get power. You have to watch dynamic compression ratio. In general, under 8:1 will run on 89. The combo I gave with pistons and cam yields a dynamic compression of about 6.5, well under the threshold. In fact, it would probably run on 87. But, you neglected to give all of the info in your original post. You said later that you have 3.23 gears. So, the cam I suggested would not be the best choice. You can get by with blueprinting static compression at no more than 9.2:1 with no quench with around a 240 @ .050 duration camshaft. That will be about all you'll want to go with 3.23 gears.
 
What exactly are you trying to do with the car/engine? What is your goal? If you go with alum heads you can up the compression a little more, if you want.
 
adk-roadrunner said:
so I am seriously debating just getting these heads from 440 source you just cant beat the price. I figured rather than paying to have the originals cleaned and buying all new components for them this might be the way to go. If I decide to go this route which pistons and cam would guys recommend for the goals I have in mind.http://store.440source.com/Stealth-Aluminum-Cylinder-Head-COMPLETE-SINGLE-HEAD/productinfo/200-1055/
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A few people here had issues with the source heads but I don't think it was anything major. I have heard mostly hardware related, which can be replaced. But by the time you replace the retainers and stuff it kind of takes the "sweet" out of the deal. If you have your heads redone you will have the option to do it right the first time.
 
69 clone I believe if you read the earlier parts of this thread you will see what my plans are. I guess ill have to research these heads a little more.
 
It's not just the 440 Source. Even the Eddys sometimes require mods like the pushrod holes need elongating sometimes. It's always something when you go modifying stuff. Just be ready for it.
 
you would think for the prices of aftermarket aluminum heads they would be ready to go just seems crazy.
 
adk-roadrunner said:
you would think for the prices of aftermarket aluminum heads they would be ready to go just seems crazy.
Click to expand...

Well......I tend to agree...however, there's no way for the cylinder head companies to know what combination of parts you're going to use. What brand or type rocker arms, what camshaft which will require what length pushrods. So ultimately, they have to "guess" as good as they can. Look at all of the changes you're making. You're going from an engine that NEVER came from the factory with a mass produced adjustable valve train. Weren't the Max Wedges the only ones? I think that's right. Lots of variations to think about going to adjustable valve train, so the companies do the best they can do within the parameters they have to work with to keep costs low. That's how they keep costs low. By passing on some of the finish work to you. No offense meant to anyone when I say this either, but as a hot rodder, you should have enough skill to make some simple modifications at the very least. At least IMO.
 
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