Not really a cut and dry answer I was hoping for.... Lol I guess it's all just whichever way you want to go. I was hoping for someone to have a landslide answer for either way. I'm jot gonna drive the car a lot. Probably very little to be honest, so realistically what kind of fuel mileage would I be looking at in a mild 360 vs mild to mostly stock 440? I know the parts I have for the 360 currently are a purple shaft cam (don't know lunch e or duration cause it was in it when I bought it), it's been boated .30 over with a slight dish piston, the crank has been turned .10, the heads have been decked .10 and has some bug valves in them (again don't know the size or what heads they are) and a edelbrock intake. Sorry I can't be more descriptive I just don't know the size of anything as I didn't replace and of the stock parts.
Swapping to BB?
- Thread starter Deaken
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Or at LEAST a big block!
mopar 3 B
Well-Known Member
Milage is a hard one to answer. Way to many variables. For you the 360 will be slightly less than what the 318 was getting if driven the same. 440 dont know? But if like everything else it will not be impressive.
Bruzilla
Well-Known Member
Doing an engine swap is like anything else... there's a smart way to do it and a dumb way. The smart way that I recommend to everyone is go looking on Facebook for a run down C body that's sitting around your area. There's always a few of them around. Check to see if the engine turns, pull the valve covers and make sure everything looks hunky dorey, check the oil for crap, etc. Buy the car, pull everything you need out of it, then part out the stuff others want and scrap what's left. That's how I did my Roadrunner and not only got a free 440, 727, and 3.23 8.75 rear out of an $800 73 Town & Country but also got $1,800 selling parts and scrapping the body that paid for an intake, carb, Schumacher mounts, driveshaft mod, headers, etc.
The dumb way is to go out and buy an engine, pay a ton to have it rebuilt, and then get nickle and dimed to death buying all the stuff you need to make the swap.
The other thing to consider is there's about 50 guys who want a 440 for every guy who wants a 318 or 360, so any money you drop into building up a 360 is going to be lost when you decide to go to a big block down the road... which is what many guys do. They drop $3,000 or so into their small block and are lucky to get $500 when they go to sell it. To me they are a waste of money.
The dumb way is to go out and buy an engine, pay a ton to have it rebuilt, and then get nickle and dimed to death buying all the stuff you need to make the swap.
The other thing to consider is there's about 50 guys who want a 440 for every guy who wants a 318 or 360, so any money you drop into building up a 360 is going to be lost when you decide to go to a big block down the road... which is what many guys do. They drop $3,000 or so into their small block and are lucky to get $500 when they go to sell it. To me they are a waste of money.
Okay time for an update..... But sorry for the delay I took my family on a cruise so I haven't had cell service or Wi-Fi for over a week. But I found a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker today and brought it home. I plan to rob the 8 3/4 out of it (mine is has a 7 1/4 now) and obviously the engine and bell housing. Is there anything I need to know before I pull the New Yorker apart? So I expect much out of the stock components on the 440 or look to upgrade parts while it's out? Keep in mind this is going to be a budget build. And recommendations and advice is greatly appreciated as I've never owned a BB or built a Mopar engine. Thanks,
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As for the rear end, the C body track for that year is about an inch and a half wider than your car, and the spring perches are farther apart. You might have some work to do. But the engine and transmission will be perfect for your upgrade.
So using the reared might be more work then it's worth? Ie be better to find the correct 8 3/4 for my car?
PP1RT
Well-Known Member
Be quicker and easier. They are pretty common so a little hunting should get you one.
A stroker 360 (408) with edelbrock heads will make excellent power. Plenty in the low 11s. Even a 360 with ported heads will run well. The only modification to install a 360 in place of a 318 may be the width of the drivers side motor mount and the correct flexplate. Everything else including trans will fit. Even a 904 will work fine. I run both big and small blocks. My wife's 360 Challenger runs on 87 octane ; 9.1 comp [email protected] hyd roller, ported stock heads, LD340 intake, 650 Holley, TTI headers, 2 1/2" exhaust, 3.55 gear. At 3750lbs it'll run 12.70@108. There are plenty of 440's that are slower. 2nd combo 65 Belvedere, pump premium, 9x28 slicks, good converter, 4.10 gear, Eddy heads, .557 Mopar solid cam, 10-1. At 3750 it'll run 11.30s@117. How carried away do you want to get?
Doug
Doug
That's some good information, if I pull the 440 from the car I just bout and the motor is crap I'll certainly post/pm you for some moe info. As for how far not quite sure but a H/C/I is definitely in the future but I don't know about spraying it or adding a turbo. Currently just wanting to get it running as I has set for years.
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