Motor home 440 engine?

[BeepBeepRR]

I paid 250 for mine.. It looked like a bush baby and it was sitting on a trailer in a field for 20 years the guy said.

 

[Garys1969RR]

I have one just like it, 77 RV motor in my 70 Dart. Runs good, quiet, idles very smooth. 452 heads, cast crank, mild cam. Pulls fairly good, and has very little leakdown. As stated before, these motors don't typically see alot of miles, racing, or high RPM. You can put in some quench dome pistons, a little hotter cam, aluminum intake, and get the C Ratio up to around 10.5 and see some good power. A little head work on the 452s goes a long way. Your trans is likely a heavy duty unit, but the rods are prob not the 6 pack type. Would be interesting if they are. Yes, buy it! Putting a torque bar & socket on the damper bolt to make sure it rotates freely, is a good idea.

 

[Darter6]

Some of the RV big blocks had small plug heads. Peanut plugs often called.They also had "steam holes" as they were called to help with keeping things cool. Even though low rpm they worked pretty hard.

 

[Daves69]

440 w/727 out of a 1979 Dodge motor home, are those any good and is it worth buying for $500? Seems to be in pretty good shape but have not heard it run.

Might be worth a look see to ya'...……
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/dyno-testing-a-stock-1972-440.249866/page-2

 

[PRHeads]

Some people stumble onto great deals and get that stuff for a song.

But, $500 for a complete 440 and a 727 is certainly within the “reasonable” price range.
Plus, it’s already been pulled from the vehicle.

Plans for any type of performance improvements should def include building in some quench.

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Anyone interested in a dual quad cast iron 440 intake ?

 

[Garys1969RR]

Is that a dual plane intake?

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Is that a dual plane intake?

Not sure but I'm assuming it's dual plane. The guys about 40 miles from me so If there's and interest I can go put a eyeball on it. The picture is from the ad I found.

 

[fratzog lover]

I understood that the transmission is longer than the car model. Just a thought.

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/727-motorhome-tranny-question.230111/

 

[Darter6]

FYI on price,I sold a 77 440 stock not rebuilt short block for $300 about 7 months ago.Of course after I sold it,NOW I could use it.

 

[68Moparmaniac]

FYI on price,I sold a 77 440 stock not rebuilt short block for $300 about 7 months ago.Of course after I sold it,NOW I could use it.

Lol, never fails.

 

[Darter6]

Dang thing sat in the corner only for 14 years.....Guess I will stick to the 361 plan.

 

[fratzog lover]

Dang thing sat in the corner only for 14 years.....Guess I will stick to the 361 plan.

Piston acquisition will be more of an adventure than a 383!

 

[mopar_chuck]

$500 is a fair price. I considered myself lucky to get mine for $400. It was in the junkyard at the time of purchase. But I’m sure I could list it in my local classifieds and double my money easily.

We will all be sitting around years from now saying, “remember when we could buy a complete 440 with 727 for $500?” Just like everything else!

 

[fwi]

Might be worth a look see to ya'...……
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/dyno-testing-a-stock-1972-440.249866/page-2

Very interesting dyno results!

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I wish I knew of a place around here that I could get to dyno my engine. I'm interested to see what the numbers are.. Maybe someone here can estimate. I was told one number by the machinist. I don't believe it will be any where near what he said. I will refrain from posting that number so I don't look like a moron.

But if this picture is any indication... Maybe hes correct. This is at TDC its .005 in the hole.

 

[Garys1969RR]

I'm assuming the top picture is what it looks like now. Haha. That's a good start. Power is determined by alot of things, the most important being good cyl head airflow. So put some good heads on there, a decent cam, headers etc, drop it in a car and run it down the 1/4 mile. Then you can use a calculator to get an idea of horsepower.
And the $500 you save on the dyno run, can be spent on the motor.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

It has 452 heads they had some bowl work. The cam is a Summit K6401 cam. I calculated the compression ratio to be 9:64.1 with .039 head gaskets. This is the cam card. I also have a mopar M1 single plane intake. Speed-Pro Forged Pistons L-2355F 30 I have a build thread somewhere on here.. There is a lot of info in that thread for making power with these old RV engines. Hughes makes a cam and lifter setup just for the RV engines.

Here is my thread on the 440 build. Mine was trashed and needed a rebuild anyhow. https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/picked-up-a-low-mile-440-today.143842/

 

[Dennis H]

I paid $400 for a 74 440 Block. Bare. Never bored.

 

[fwi]

Wonder if a Thermo Quad is worth rebuilding?