Motor home 440

[mgoblue9798]

My RV 440 was a 75 block had 452 heads with a cast crank and LY rods. Not all RV engines had steel cranks. Pictures below show the extra coolant ports.

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As with all stuff from Ma Mopar, never say never.

Just my two cents but either is fine for a core to rebuild, and I would rather have the LY rods anyway.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I used a 76 RV 440 in my coronet. 38k on it.
After getting it home and on the stand I cleaned it up then took the top end off and pan.
Bores looked great, pulled a rod and main cap , bearings looked fine so put them back.
New oil pickup and b body pan along with new rear main seal.
New cam and dbl row chain.
On the 452 heads. Once I pulled the springs I ckd
The guides for play. All felt good. So lap the valves and install new seals.
Put it all back together.
Fast forward 2 years, it runs great , good oil pressure.
They may be low compression but I can buy fuel anyplace

Mine was a 44k engine but someone pulled it and left it on a trailer for god knows how long. Took .30 to clean up the bores. So while it was apart I had the block square decked, bored and line honed, also had the intake milled to match the head surfaces. Ended up being 9:64 to 1 could have used steel shim head gaskets to get a little more CR. Also used the Summit K6401 cam and lifters. Turned out to be a great running engine and fired right up on the first push of the button on my stand.

 

[Joe Jacalone]

I used a 76 RV 440 in my coronet. 38k on it.
After getting it home and on the stand I cleaned it up then took the top end off and pan.
Bores looked great, pulled a rod and main cap , bearings looked fine so put them back.
New oil pickup and b body pan along with new rear main seal.
New cam and dbl row chain.
On the 452 heads. Once I pulled the springs I ckd
The guides for play. All felt good. So lap the valves and install new seals.
Put it all back together.
Fast forward 2 years, it runs great , good oil pressure.
They may be low compression but I can buy fuel anyplace

That's great. I am hoping for that!

 

[Gunner1]

My motor is also a 76 motor home package. The PO had it rebuilt with Speed Pro 2355 .030 pistons and a RPM intake. He says he had it done 8 years ago and since he couldnt get it to run right, parked it till I bought it. I did the bore scope thing and the pistons look brand new as do the heads and valves. They look like 452's all freshened. But It pings like a bag of marbles in a coffee can when you start to open it up. I believe he put in a really mild cam with the flat tops. So Next week its getting Stealth CNC heads, Isky 292 Mega cam, headers, and a Billet MSD dist with a 6AL2 box. So far with tuning I have it pretty drivable as long as you dont go past about 1/3 throttle. Cruises the freeway at 75. I think the Basic package is a pretty good foundation for a build.

 

[Joe Jacalone]

Another thing about that MH 440....the water pump looks like it empties out on the passenger side. These pumps have a huge sewer sized opening inside the casting for water flow compared to the car pumps which have a little pencil sized hole. So, if you can live with having difficulty getting a timing light on the marks because the WP outlet is blocking it then great cooling is the payoff. I have one on mine.

Water Pump Housings from www.440 Source.com

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What did you use for a radiator?

 

[Brandy]

A 26" from out of an 86 Dodge Power Ram 4x4 1500. Passenger side lower hose inlet and drivers side top outlet.

 

[fesser]

A 26" from out of an 86 Dodge Power Ram 4x4 1500. Passenger side lower hose inlet and drivers side top outlet.

Does it require much modification to mount it? What about a shroud?

 

[RJRENTON]

Another thing about that MH 440....the water pump looks like it empties out on the passenger side. These pumps have a huge sewer sized opening inside the casting for water flow compared to the car pumps which have a little pencil sized hole. So, if you can live with having difficulty getting a timing light on the marks because the WP outlet is blocking it then great cooling is the payoff. I have one on mine.

Water Pump Housings from www.440 Source.com

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In your first pix, Isn't that the suction inlet to the pump's impeller "eye" or how the impeller starts the coolant flow? The 2nd and 3rd pix are the thermostat bypass passage to allow for coolant recirculation when the
t-stat is closed; with the larger diameter for greater volume re-circulated for more even warm up......just my opinion of course...
BOB RENTON

 

[Brandy]

Does it require much modification to mount it? What about a shroud?

No mods, shroud bolted right up. The only drawback will be in seeing the timing mark behind the lower hose.

 

[Brandy]

In your first pix, Isn't that the suction inlet to the pump's impeller "eye" or how the impeller starts the coolant flow? The 2nd and 3rd pix are the thermostat bypass passage to allow for coolant recirculation when the
t-stat is closed; with the larger diameter for greater volume re-circulated for more even warm up......just my opinion of course...
BOB RENTON

Yes. The pictures are for ID purposes only....and to demonstrate the difference in coolant passage size inside the body.

 

[67MPRFAN]

Joe not sure on your direction with the transmission, but the tailshaft is different from MH to passenger car

 

[dvw]

Doesn't touch on what subject?

Some " Industrial/cold weather-truck" blocks 440-426-413 look like this..

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The only real difference in these blocks is the outer ribbing to prevent freeze cracks. You can still freeze crack them. We had the unfortunate experience of leaving our old 63 Polara race car in the trailer one night to long.
Doug

 

[Brandy]

The only real difference in these blocks is the outer ribbing to prevent freeze cracks. You can still freeze crack them. We had the unfortunate experience of leaving our old 63 Polara race car in the trailer one night to long.
Doug

Nothing is indestructible....