Looking to purchase a seized 440, need advice

[Plymouth71]

Good day folks! I just want to touch base with other Mopar fans, looking for your advice on things to look for. I found a local ad with a 1978 440-4 barrel with an automatic transmission. I don't know much more about it at this point, except that it is seized. Owner states that he bought it a few years ago to put into his 1974 satellite, but has never gotten around to it. When he picked it up he says that it turned freely, and while he had it in his garage he would intermittently crank it over with a fresh battery. He advises about 6 months ago it stopped turning over. Obviously I have no way of knowing if this is the truth or not. Can you please provide me with some suggestions on things to look for, telltale signs etc that might indicate this engine was abused or neglected. I'm hoping to look at it this week, and if I feel it's reasonable, I will purchase it. I am new to engine rebuilding and I'm going to practice on a 318 I have sitting in my garage before I go full blown on a big block. My satellite which is a 1971 base model, as a 318 with a 907 I believe. I know there's going to be a lot of changes needed, which is fine because I plan on this taking a long time to complete. Please review the pics, and point out anything that you see or think of for me to check before laying down my hard-earned money. Thank you for your assistance.

 

[GTX JOHN]

I would not pay a bunch of money for a seized up cast crank
late 440. Maybe $500 if I needed one quickly.

I seldom have come out well believing Sellers that I do not know or
at least know of!

 

[RemCharger]

And the tranny is no good to you.
Maybe a few parts from it.

 

[Bighouse]

It’s got all the front accessories and brackets if you need em. That’s a plus

 

[fine69]

Unlikely that an engine would seize when stored indoors and periodically exercised. . Ask the seller to try break it loose and then get to negotiations.

 

[496 polara]

How much is he asking for it? can you pull spark plugs and look in the cylinders with a bore scope? Pull a cylinder head and look at cylinders?

 

[Geoff 2]

Do not pay a lot for it...

 

[Plymouth71]

He's asking $550.00, I haven't seen it in person yet. I was planning on taking an extended breaker bar to see if I can get it to turn. I might see if I can borrow a bore scope to check the cylinders as well. 440s are like hens teeth where I live. I was talking to a guy about a 340 short block and he wanted $2000.

 

[GTX JOHN]

You can get a long enough bar and enough weight to break darn
near anything lose. However, you may break the ring lands out of the
pistons, break the rings and scar up the cylinder walls really making junk
out of it!
Soaking everything for a period of time is a better alternative.
I use Diesel because it is always handy around our shop but I
am sure there might be better things to soak it in (But it works).

 

[OKDart]

Probably from an RV, those usually have low miles.
I've pulled apart 2 locked up engines where mice crawled up the exhaust pipe and got inside the cylinder through the tiny valve gap and nested. The urine and crap will lock it up.
The water pump inlet is on the wrong side for your car. Easiest/cheapest thing might be to get a radiator to adapt to the engine (like for a 1973-74 Satellite). That engine shows right side inlet and outlet (water pump inlet/outlet), I would get a radiator that's right side inlet, and left side outlet. The hoses are available for that setup.
And as mentioned, the transmission tail shaft is incorrect for a car. The whole transmission has to be disassembled in order to swap out tail shafts, but your 904 won't work as a donor anyway. However it might be a good candidate for putting a Gear Vendors overdrive on it if you have the $$$.
Also the oil pan, engine mounts, and exhaust manifolds won't work for a car.

 

[Runcharger]

Go with $400 cash and offer him $300 at first because it's seized. Don't try to move it as it should be soaked first and I bet it will break free, better to not have it free and offer less.
Everything is a core and I'd be more interested in it if it has never been apart than if it has had a hack in there working on it.
The trans will have HD internals and it's easy to swap the tailshaft.
Used parts are a core not something you can plan on bolting in and running.
There's value in the little stuff, alternator bracket is there, kickdown linkage is hopefully there, TQ is hopefully there, distributor is there. Yes for most cars you'll want to swap the WP housing, super easy to do.
I don't see a problem, eveen at $550 to be honest but take cash and get it for less.
Nothing wrong with a cast crank for your first engine rebuild either. They will be just fine up to 450HP or so, however if it needs machining just buy a stroker crank and head down the rabbit hole.

 

[OKDart]

Go with $400 cash and offer him $300 at first because it's seized. Don't try to move it as it should be soaked first and I bet it will break free, better to not have it free and offer less.
Everything is a core and I'd be more interested in it if it has never been apart than if it has had a hack in there working on it.
The trans will have HD internals and it's easy to swap the tailshaft.
Used parts are a core not something you can plan on bolting in and running.

You mean easy to swap the tail housing, but all the guts need removed to swap the shaft itself.

 

[#41]

$4-500 seems to be the going price for motorhome 440 cores and has been for while. It's always a little bit of a gamble buying a rebuilder. It should not be too badly seized if he has really been keeping it inside and rotating it until lately. Hopefully he will let you pull the plugs and valve covers for inspection and you can spray down the cylinders and try and break it free. Even if it he does not, it's still worth the dough as long as the block isnt cracked.

 

[Tony Tee]

I'd buy it! As long as the sides of the block looks like it wasn't cracked from freezing. Happy Canada day!

 

[eldubb440]

its worth the price of scrap minus your time in that condition

 

[Plymouth71]

Well, I loaded up a cherry picker and headed out in the pickup truck to take a look.
The good, it had all the parts, an extra alternator belts and fan. The thermo quad look to be in good shape.
The bad and it obviously been sitting outside at some point in its life and it was quite Rusty on top. I I tried putting a bit of pressure to see if I could break it free, but it was Rock solid.
The Ugly. I didn't have a borescope to look, but I did pull the dipstick and there was nary a drop of oil on it. There was a little bit of Rusty sludge however which basically killed the deal. I lowballed him because of the risk of taking home a boat anchor, but in the end we could not agree on a price. So I will continue to look for a heart transplant for my satellite. In the meantime I will rebuild my spare 318, in preparation of moving into a bigger displacement. Thank you everyone for your comments and insights I do appreciate it.

 

[1danc]

it's a core anyway you look at it, if you go that route go steel crank with better accessories for a car , trans same deal - best it didn't come home with you, unless you were just parts collecting because you hate to see the stuff go to waste - somebody needs a piece off that - Not the one to drop in for sure first time around ! I had a good 440 sitting, the rings stuck on cylinder walls - I worked it loose and it ran, until it got hot - rings were still stuck in pistons lands - Good Luck on your Car !

 

[Plymouth71]

it's a core anyway you look at it, if you go that route go steel crank with better accessories for a car , trans same deal - best it didn't come home with you, unless you were just parts collecting because you hate to see the stuff go to waste - somebody needs a piece off that - Not the one to drop in for sure first time around ! I had a good 440 sitting, the rings stuck on cylinder walls - I worked it loose and it ran, until it got hot - rings were still stuck in pistons lands - Good Luck on your Car !

Thanks. Back to my original plan. I already have a spare complete 318. I'm just doing some research on what things can be done to beef it up a little. Learning all about the Head Cylinder options, how to port them for the first time, how the flow numbers can tell you what kind of cam you want to use for performance at what RPM. Also looking at the Rear end and what gear ratios would be best, how to service the rear diff and install a limited slip set up, and last but not least a different torque converter. I already have a 72 340 Intake with Thermo-quad set up ready for gasket matching too. If I can find a bigger displacement engine in my price range, I'll take a look, but they are far and few between around here unless you want an engine already built up for $10-13k.

 

[Stonehengeheel]

Thanks. Back to my original plan. I already have a spare complete 318. I'm just doing some research on what things can be done to beef it up a little. Learning all about the Head Cylinder options, how to port them for the first time, how the flow numbers can tell you what kind of cam you want to use for performance at what RPM. Also looking at the Rear end and what gear ratios would be best, how to service the rear diff and install a limited slip set up, and last but not least a different torque converter. I already have a 72 340 Intake with Thermo-quad set up ready for gasket matching too. If I can find a bigger displacement engine in my price range, I'll take a look, but they are far and few between around here unless you want an engine already built up for $10-13k.

I bought a 67 Coronet with a 273. Added a 4-barrel intake, headers, everything I could add. Still a dog. Bought a 1970 Newport with a 440 and 727 and installed it. I can't explain how great the difference was.