Such a deal! Or Why I Love Craigslist!

[Al K]

Like a lot of you,I peruse the Craigslist ads for Mopar goodies. For the most part,I've found some good deals;a number of items on the Sport Fury came from CL. A couple of days ago,an ad popped up for a 1973 440 motor. Two Benjamins. Firm. I called and checked it out and well,it's now in my garage. Came from a motor home,supposedly with 65,000 or so miles. Here's what I got:

A good block;no visible cracks or damage

A good set of 213('73 400/440 motor home) heads-2.08/1.74 valves

A box of bolts/brackets/etc.

But...the real prizes in this Cracker Jack box were these:

Plus this(the one on the left):

Six Pack-style rods and a sweet forged crank! A nice lower end for the future build. The journals,both rods and mains,are incredibly nice. I really doubt(hope?!) that I won't need to cut either sets of journals. They really are that good. The other crank would need at least a .010/.010" cut on all journals. The other good aspect is that the crank and rods went together;if the Venolias I hope to use and the stock slugs weigh close,it will mean minimal balancing changes. Another plu$.

A look at the journals:#'s 1/2,# 2 main,#'s 3/4,#3 main. Suffice to say that #1&5 mains and #'s 5/6 and 7/8 rod journals were just as good.

Even a half-blind Polish Caveman can find a nugget or two every once in a while.

 

[1badgtx]

Nice score!!!I,m on the hunt for a 400 block here in nor-cal..
Petty Blue 67 gTx

 

[brandon64]

someones been in there before. it's got chamfered oil holes. I would check to see if it is not turned already. check the back of the bearings.

 

[Al K]

someones been in there before. it's got chamfered oil holes. I would check to see if it is not turned already. check the back of the bearings.

Thanks for the tip;I'll do that tomorrow. I didn't bring a set of calipers with me-they're at work-so I was just able to check the surface condition.

 

[darkhorse]

Nice score!!!I,m on the hunt for a 400 block here in nor-cal..
Petty Blue 67 gTx

not too hijack here, but ill keep an eye out for you Blue. oh and killer score, deals are there still. few years ago i found a guy selling B-body Dana 60 complete. scored it for 500.00, he also threw in complete 383 from a 68 RR minus intake for 50 bucks!

 

[brandon64]

Thanks for the tip;I'll do that tomorrow. I didn't bring a set of calipers with me-they're at work-so I was just able to check the surface condition.

good deal non the less, but before you go buying bearings. the back of the old bearings should say std. or whatever size they are over. I've been lucky enough to find 1 forged crank that had been gone through that was still standard, but chances are it has been turned already.

 

[Propwash]

Sweet Deal Al! Craigslist Junky myself!

 

[Al K]

good deal non the less, but before you go buying bearings. the back of the old bearings should say std. or whatever size they are over. I've been lucky enough to find 1 forged crank that had been gone through that was still standard, but chances are it has been turned already.

You,sir are correct-I think-cuz it looks like work has been done. I pulled the bearings and here's what I found: the mains(all of them) are marked "AT-20" with "1 73" below that. All of the main bearings(both halves) are marked that way. The rod bearings are marked "DA-49" with "2 73 W" below that. Same as mains;all shells have these marks. Does the AT-20 on the mains mean .020" undersize? I don't see a "STD" anywhere on any of the rod bearings,but have no clue about the "DA-49".

I haven't cleaned the tops of the pistons yet;I'd almost wager that I'll find an oversize stamp on them. I'll keep you informed,and thanks!

 

[Meep-Meep]

Not sure about the DA-49 but the 2-73 could be a date code. I pulled apart my 77 440 and all the bearings had a similar single digit and two digit number (like your 2-73) that coincidentally were right in there with the cast and stamp dates of the block. Those oil hole chamfers resemble what I have seen on factory cranks. Good score nonetheless!

 

[Ron 73]

Looks like you made a great deal Al!

 

[Al K]

Well;I just took the crank to my local parts store,and with a digital caliper,we got 2.39" on the rod journals,and 2.80" on the mains-an uncut crank! The opinion of those gathered around(three other old farts and myself;all long-time car/bike guys) was that these could probably just be polished up without a cut. Sweeeeeeet! Le$$ machine $hop expen$e. Works for me. It's looking like it's time to start getting machine work on the block and heads done;don't think I can get it together before this year is over,but I can shoot for having the 440 ready to go in before next cruisin' season.

...And,of course,I'll have questions and you'll have answers and harmony in the universe will be maintained. As it should be...

 

['67 Charger Kid]

Check out these deals I have in my town, only if I had the money to buy these parts..
http://mohave.craigslist.org/pts/2409929803.html

 

[Cranky]

A lot of people don't like to run the big rods because of the weight. Make sure you use high strength rod bolts if you plan on spooling up the rpm. One of the things I do to them is polish the hell out of the beams. Takes some of the weight off plus gets rid of the forge line. Chrysler came out with those as a fix to all of the windowed hi-po engines under warranty back in the day but they didn't upgrade the rod bolts and that only made the problem worse. Good score!

 

[Al K]

Cranky;I have every intention of grinding,polishing and either bead blasting or shot-peening these pieces. ARP bolts and such will also be used exclusively on this mill.

OK;question time: 1)As far as grinding the flash and such off the rods;what do you guys prefer: a grinding bit or a stone? Drill or Dremel? 2)Then,shot-peening or glass-beading to finish? As always,thanks for any advice.

 

[Meep-Meep]

You'll be working on this the rest of the year with a Dremel! Get a high powered Milwaukee or Makita die grinder with a 1/4" collet. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Makita-GD0600-4-Inch-Grinder-Paddle/dp/B000I6PIQ2 It will make short work of that forge line. Also make sure you sand/grind making the scratch marks go from big end to small end. You can start with a carbide burr http://www.burrs4less.com/products/SC_5-243-0.html to smooth it out then finish with a drum sander or stone. I have my die grinder hooked to this http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/117/872/=d4i1bl see Variable-Speed Foot Switches for Small Motors.

 

[detmatt1]

Good score Al!!

 

[Al K]

Thanks Matt;you do OK at Carlisle?

Meep-Meep;THANK YOU for the tips. I forgot to mention that I do have a Rockford (air-powered) die grinder-and a varietbits-so it looks like I had better get started...