info on purchases give me you opinions.

[adk-roadrunner]

info on purchases give me your opinions.( good deals or not)

ok guys so ive decided im swapping my 73 roadrunner from a 318 to a 440. I found a 83/4 rear end sure grip with 3.23 gears complete drum to drum with leaf springs and rear sway bar which im missing. so the guy is asking 850 for all and i talked him down to 700 for the whole set what do you guys think. also from another gentlemen i found a 440 rebuilt a while back pulled with only about 8 hours on it 915 closed chamber heads aluminum intake it comes with 727 tranny and headers for 1100 how does that sound. just trying to see if you guys think these deals are ok thanks.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

Just trying to see if these are good buys they seem it to me but give me you opinions guys all are welcome .

 

[65affair]

O.K. I will give you my 2 cents...
I think the rear end is a little high in price (my opinion) however, with that said, if it is something that you really want you have to decide if its money well spent. like... does it need rebuilding? Is it actually out of a 73 "B" body (for proper fit)? Do you actually need the springs? or are you just buy them to have laying around and are they any good?
Now as far as the 440... I would say if it is what you say, it's a good price. I am always skeptical about engines. but, the price sounds good and you couldn't build one for that.. next, is the engine sound like it is what you think you need or want? I would guess that you could still make some changes to it and still be in really good shape as far as money goes.
there you have it my $.o2..

 

[YY1]

I agree.

The 3.23 SG chunk is worth about $250-$400 depending on the condition.
Axle housing is about $100
Sway bar about $100
IDK what springs are going for.
Are they 73/74 "ISO" springs?
If they're 71/72 springs/axle, and you are planning to swap the whle thing to eliminate the iso-comp, then keeping them all together is a must.

I agree about "rebuilt by someone else in the past" engines.
Even if they could provide the build specs and/or machine shop and parts receipts, I's still be a bit leery, and price accordingly. Unless I can hear it run, and get some documentation, I tend to asume it will need a rebuild soon.

 

[shag766]

ok guys so ive decided im swapping my 73 roadrunner from a 318 to a 440. I found a 83/4 rear end sure grip with 3.23 gears complete drum to drum with leaf springs and rear sway bar which im missing. so the guy is asking 850 for all and i talked him down to 700 for the whole set what do you guys think. also from another gentlemen i found a 440 rebuilt a while back pulled with only about 8 hours on it 915 closed chamber heads aluminum intake it comes with 727 tranny and headers for 1100 how does that sound. just trying to see if you guys think these deals are ok thanks.

rear end sounds expensive. your are close to d-60 pricing. the motor, humph. i can't say a whole bunch because i bought the hemi for mine with 700 miles on it. but the reason i did it, is the shop that built it is a good friend of a real good buddy of mine whose a gear head. thats how i got a line on it. if i couldn't of got their opinions and thoughts i wouldn't have.
this throwing this at ya. i guy i know was here on the weekend and tells me he has a 73-74 440 with tranny complete out of a motor home. asking i think around 800.00. older mopar guy and if he says its good i'd believe him. small area here. he will take less. you are up state n/y.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

Ya the motor home sell for a little less but aren't the trannys usually unusable because they are short shaft or something. Now as far as the rear end goes does anyone in my area on here have a rear end with sure grip for these cheap prices they would be willing to sell me. I've been searching around for a couple months and kind find anything close enough to where I won't spend several hundred in gas getting it. I think ill try to get it without springs will all my hardware work with .

 

[YY1]

Again, is the rear you're looking at iso-comp?

Lots of folks WANT to swap out the soft ride iso stuff for 71/72 rigid assemblies.

You need to know how to identify iso and non-iso parts, to be sure you get the right thing, especially if you're mixing and matching.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

im gonna be honest i have no clue what iso and non iso means i was told by the owner it was pulled from a 73 charger and he is supposed to be sending me pics of it this evening i will post them when i get them.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

Update. So I spoke to the 8 3/4 guy he is now sending me pics tonight as he didnt get a chance yesterday I'm definitely only wanting the sway bar and rear end and not wanting to pay more than 4 hundred I think so I may just tell him that's all I can go and he he doesn't take it then tell him to call me if he changes his mind. Now the engine guy I was finally able to get ahold of him last night and he spent more time talking about the old mopars he used to own and kinda sounding douchy lol but knowledgable at the same time. He said its been almost 10 years since he started it but had put marvel mystery oil in it at one time and it still turns over . He said it was built for him by 2 buddys not sure what pistons they used its a 72 block and it has a purple camshaft. He also stated it had 915 closed chamber heads but had never had a valve job when rebuilt so if it was him he'd have one done on them. I tried to get him to come down a couple hundred on it but no joy he's firm says he already dropped from 1400 and that's for engine complete ,tranny and headers. I've found like 10 other 440's online in my area and they all go for around 5 to 800 alone not sure what to do.

 

[65affair]

Here goes.... If you purchase this engine and trans expect to do a rebuild. With that said, you said you can purchase a 440 in your area for $800... well a trans core (rebuilder)would be roughly $200, so your in it for $1000. so, for $100 bucks more you are getting headers (not sure if they fit your application) and intake. You might not have to rebuild as much, maybe you wont need pistons... but, you will need seals and gaskets and possibly bearings and rings (never trust that the engine was built correct). the cam may not fit you application (which Purple Shaft?) so you might need that also, and it sound like a valve job, which means guides and seals and maybe valves. bottom line is that you might be saving a piston purchase and cylinder boring cost. I would also balance the engine (money well spent). what ever you do don't expect to just throw this engine in and it will work great! That is a gamble, always check it out before you put it in! Expect to at least check the trans also this is important because this needs to fit your combination! like shifting and strength and stall... I don't think you would go wrong if you purchased this engine/trans, just be prepared!

 

[Bruzilla]

The biggest problem I've found in making engine swaps is getting the big stuff isn't nearly as hard (or expensive) as rounding up all the little stuff. Anything the engine is missing, from brackets to mounts to wiring, is going to need to be replaced and buying stuff in onesies and twosies gets real expensive real fast.

What I'm planning on doing is buying a running vehicle with a nice high-performance 440/727 already in it. I've seen lots of these come up for sale, ranging from a Dodge Ram with a '69 GTX drivetrain for $5,000 to an 81 Mirada that was made into a racer for $3,500. I've also seen cars with truck or motorhome drivetrains selling for $1,000 to $1,500. By getting a car that runs great and is complete, I get an engine and tranny I know are good, and everything I need, except maybe a driveshaft, to make my conversion without having to go hunting for little crap that's missing. Best of all, I take the 360 and tranny I'm taking out and sell it, plus sell/scrap whatever is left of the doner car, and get the whole conversion done for a minimal cost... or free if I'm lucky.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

As I'm doing the swap ill start a thread with a tally of cost and parts needed I guess and post it all.

 

[YY1]

Brother Bruzilla has sage advice.

You hear it run and you get all the little things that you also know work together.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

Unfortunately mopars with big blocks for cheap prices are few and far between in my neck of the woods but I am always on the look out. all you guys in the southern states with your mopars for sale on the side of the road and all over the place rust free are lucky hell my 2005 Dakota only has 60,000 miles and is rusted right out I mean holes through the body.

- - - Updated - - -

so here are the pics of the rear end that the guy wants 700 bucks for with the leaf springs and the sway bar. It looks pretty crusty what do you guys think he just sent the pics

 

[adk-roadrunner]

so I found this its not a 440 but it is a 383 it is a 68 Chrysler Newport does anyone know anything about these and if the drive train would be compatible they are asking 1500 obo would feel bad robbing it for parts though I could put my small block in and cruise it around.

 

[adk-roadrunner]

so talked to the guy with the rear end today i got him to down anothe hundred so 600 for the rear end leaf springs and sway bar plus its gonna be delivered more than half way to me. hes about 2.5 hours away but he's coming through the area sunday.

 

[70redbee]

Sounds like he doesn't have another buyer for the rear. Offer him $500 and you will have cash money waiting for him at the meet up place on Sunday.If he says no to that, tell him to call you when he will sell it for $500, also let him know that if you find another rear that you will buy the other. He will know he has the money on Sunday.