What is that fitting top back of 440 block?

[Floating 440]

Hi all, Newbie here, first post. This seems to be the place to be for Mopar knowledge. I have a 440 that I am rebuilding but I hope it’s cool if it’s not going into an A-body- it’s the original motor in my ’83 Century Coronado Cardel that I bought sight unseen from 3000 miles away late summer ‘18. Although we did use the boat a few times that year, I soon realized that she was a total restoration project. Not complaining as I knew that was a possibility, I enjoy doing it, it’s a pretty rare boat that my wife and I both love, and the price was right. One of the main selling points to me was one of the earlier years that had the 440, as I have always loved the big old Chryslers that my Grandfather always had in the 60s and 70s and always wanted one myself.

So long story short, I am mostly done with the mechanicals, getting to the wiring and plumbing part, and wondering what the brass fitting in the middle of this photo is for. Oil pressure gage? It originally went into a mysterious conglomeration off to the side of mechanical, pneumatic, and electrical BS that I have no intention of putting back. I am trying to simplify everything. Going with electronic ignition, one wire alternator, etc. Am I correct that this fitting is for oil pressure, and if so, I assume I can there is a sending unit I can put right there instead of remotely? My oil pressure gage is electric. Or am I totally off track on what this if for?

Thanks for any help, and thanks to the people that keep this site up and running!

 

[khryslerkid]

Welcome Floating!

Yes that is an oil pressure port mainly used for a sending unit to make your electric gauge work. Useing a tubing to a mechanical guage will work there also. Opposite of that one is another that serves the same purpose.

 

[69L48Z27]

Fitting is for mechanical oil pressure gauge feed tube. If new gauges are electric your sending unit would screw directly into the port instead.

 

[moparedtn]

from the foothills of NE Tennessee!

KK is correct - both of those outlets are 1/4"NPT threaded and tapped into the oil pressure of the engine.

 

[Floating 440]

Wow that was fast! I knew this was the place to be! Thank you very much! I'll post some progress pics as I go along.

 

[khryslerkid]

I'm curious as what you stated was originally hooked to that fitting. Being a marine application I'm wondering if it had something to do with lubrication of a component.

 

[silversedan]

from the foothills of NE Tennessee!

KK is correct - both of those outlets are 1/4"NPT threaded and tapped into the oil pressure of the engine.

one is 1/8in pipe and the other 1/4in. pipe on all the blocks I've seen.

 

[493 Mike]

from the foothills of NE Tennessee!

KK is correct - both of those outlets are 1/4"NPT threaded and tapped into the oil pressure of the engine.

I think one is 1/4" but the other is 1/8".
Mike

 

[moparedtn]

one is 1/8in pipe and the other 1/4in. pipe on all the blocks I've seen.

I think one is 1/4" but the other is 1/8".
Mike

Yep, my bad. Drivers' side is 1/8" NPT.

 

[BSB67]

Pictures of the boat please. Are those Century's DD or stern drive?

 

[Floating 440]

Thanks for all the replies and the interest! Pics below are of the boat as I bought it, except for the bottom pic which is what the engine in the top pic looks like now.

If you look at the top pic, just in front of the water tank on the right side of the pic is a plastic housing which contained things like the

main breaker, voltage regulator (don't need now), ballast resistor (don't need now), and​

I know now that a hose went from the fitting I asked about to a remote sending unit in there, then wired to the gage. The whole thing as well as the rest of the boat was a rat's nest of spliced in/cut/replaced wiring from a previous owner(s). All wiring was ripped out and redone from scratch which is a thing of beauty now.

These were available as direct drives, stern drives, or V-drives. I wanted the simplicity of either direct drive or V-drive, and my wife wanted the sunpad and the open space, so the V-drive worked. They also had the 440 in the earlier years, up to about 83 or 84 I think, then they came with 454s. I had to have the 440, so it took quite a while to find one with that combo as the V-drives are pretty rare. As a bonus it came with a sliding soft-top which is also pretty rare.

Basically everything but the hull will be new when done including new stringers. Total restoration that we hope to be plying the waters with this summer.

View attachment 902343

 

[BSB67]

Boy she looks nice in the water. A lot of boats that age the wood is rotting. That one looks pretty solid.

Too bad you didn't come on here sooner, we could have spun you out of control, I mean helped you, with the engine build.

 

[Floating 440]

LOL, yeah, thanks BSB! I'm spending enough $$ as it is! I pulled the engine out because I thought the tranny was bad. Turned out some nimrod had neglected to put the key in the shaft coupling and figured jamming the set screw into the keyway would suffice. Luckily it gave up the ghost at the town docks, and not the time before when we were 15 miles from our town dock! It would idle in gear but give it any gas and it was like being in neutral. Blessing in disguise, though as getting ready to pull the motor was what made me realize there was nothing left of the stringers (wood encapsulated in fiberglass mat) and plus the motor looked like hell, leaked oil, had water in one cylinder from a bad head gasket, wiring was all shot, etc.

On the plus side, I discovered that someone had already sprung for .030 over forged aluminum Teflon coated pistons, so that was a good find. And all the bearings, cam, lifters, etc. all looked and measured good.