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weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? #1110677
11/10/11 10:12 AM
11/10/11 10:12 AM
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Youngsville, NC
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dem440c Offline OP
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got a buddy who bought a project car with a 440 engine and he has found an odd problem. He can't get the spark plugs to go in because there is some kind of weird growth cast into the cyl heads just below the spark plug opening:



now, he lives a few hours away so I haven't seen these in person yet, this is just the picture he sent me. I've had my hands on pretty much every factory Mopar cyl head and many of the aftermarket ones and this is something I've never seen. He popped a valve cover and found the casting number 7579007, which I've never heard of.

Anyone know what is going on here?

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110678
11/10/11 10:16 AM
11/10/11 10:16 AM
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Brookeville, Md
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Casting Number Engine CID Year Intake Exhaust
4021051 360 1977-86 1.88 1.60
1737637 361 1958-59 1.94 1.60
1944705 361 1958-59 1.94 1.60
1737637 383 1960 1.94 1.60
2206324 361/383/413 1961-62 2.08 1.60
2206924 361/383/413 1961-62 2.08 1.60
2463200 361/383/413 1963 2.08 1.60
2406516 361/383/413/426 1964-67 2.08 1.60
2408520 413 1964 2.08 1.60
2402557 413 - 300J 1963 2.08 1.74
2402286 413/426 Max Wedge 1962-63 2.08 1.88
2463209 426 Max Wedge 1963 2.08 1.88
2406518 426 Max Wedge 1964 2.08 1.88
2406158 383/440 1967 2.08 1.60
2780915 383/440 1967 2.08 1.60
2780915 440HP 1967 2.08 1.74
2843906 383/440 1968-70 2.08 1.74
2951250 440 1968 2.08 1.74
3462346 383/400/440 1971-72 2.08 1.74
3462346 400/440 1973 2.08 1.74
3751213 400/440 Motor Home 1973 2.08 1.74
3769902 400/440 1974 2.08 1.74
3769975 400/440 1975 2.08 1.74
4006452 400/440 1976-78 2.08 1.74


[IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/pui5j.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110679
11/10/11 10:20 AM
11/10/11 10:20 AM
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Dean_Kuzluzski Offline
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Fill the hole with a cottonball.
Take a diegrinder to that lump.
Pull cottonball.
Blow out cylinder with high pressure airhose.
Test fit sparkplug.
Repeat as necessary.


R.I.P.- Gary "Coop" Davis 02/09/68-05/13/04
Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110680
11/10/11 10:25 AM
11/10/11 10:25 AM
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Probably because he is using the wrong plugs , that looks a later 452 Police/motorhome head and it takes the 5/8" hex tapered seat plug, I used an AR24 autolite.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: JohnRR] #1110681
11/10/11 10:51 AM
11/10/11 10:51 AM
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dem440c Offline OP
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Quote:

Probably because he is using the wrong plugs , that looks a later 452 , Police/motorhome head and it takes the 5/8" hex tapered seat plug , I used an AR24 autolite.




huh? I've had many sets of 452 heads and none had this goofy nub that prevented me from using normal spark plugs. And they all had the casting number 452 on them. Does anybody know what is the significance of this casting number?

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110682
11/10/11 11:00 AM
11/10/11 11:00 AM
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As John said Motor Home head, not all motor homes got it, it has a water passage around the plug.. Die grinder would be a bad idea...If you look you can clearly see it uses a tapered seat plug not a gasket type plug...


"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110683
11/10/11 11:00 AM
11/10/11 11:00 AM
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JohnRR Offline
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Quote:

Quote:

Probably because he is using the wrong plugs , that looks a later 452 , Police/motorhome head and it takes the 5/8" hex tapered seat plug , I used an AR24 autolite.




huh? I've had many sets of 452 heads and none had this goofy nub that prevented me from using normal spark plugs. And they all had the casting number 452 on them. Does anybody know what is the significance of this casting number?




So if this is the case then he has an NOS head that has NEVER been installed and run, ???

What plug is he trying to install? What plugs did you use?

There are 2 flavors of 452's , one uses the flat set 13/16" hex plug like an autolite 85, then there is the peanut plug head that uses the tapered seat plug with no gasket, this head has the extra cooling passages on either side of the plug that allow water flow across the back of the chamber. The later blocks that had these heads also have holes in the deck. The 440 I did for another member uses these heads and the block that was used also had the holes in the deck saving me from having to add them.

I had a hard time finding the proper plug for the peanut plug heads as none of the parts book I looked in at many parts stores listed it.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: JohnRR] #1110684
11/10/11 11:15 AM
11/10/11 11:15 AM
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dem440c Offline OP
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Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Probably because he is using the wrong plugs , that looks a later 452 , Police/motorhome head and it takes the 5/8" hex tapered seat plug , I used an AR24 autolite.




huh? I've had many sets of 452 heads and none had this goofy nub that prevented me from using normal spark plugs. And they all had the casting number 452 on them. Does anybody know what is the significance of this casting number?




So if this is the case then he has an NOS head that has NEVER been installed and run, ???

what plug is he trying to install? What plugs did you use?

There are 2 flavors of 452's , one uses the flat set 13/16" hex plug , like and autolite 85 , then there is the peanut plug head that uses the tapered seat plug with no gasket, this head has the extra cooling passages on either side of the plug that allow water flow across the back of the chamber. The later blocks that had these heads also have holes in the deck. The 440 I did for another member uses these heads and the block that was used also had the holes in the deck saving me from having to add them.

I had a hard time finding the proper plug for the peanut plug heads as none of the parts book I looked in at many parts stores listed it.




wow, I'm learning something here. I thought the heads with the extra cooling passages were the 213 heads, I still am baffled by the casting number he found on these. I have a couple of the industrial 413's with the giant water pump and all that stuff stashed in the pile out back, maybe I'll dig them out and look closer for this deal here.

The story on this was that this friend of mine (Chevy guy making a foray into the Mopar world) bought someone's unfinished Charger project from Craigslist or something like that, and the guy he bought it from had some health issue and has since departed. So talking to whoever put this together to find out what's going on is not an option, we won't be able to learn what the history of this engine is by any method other than deciphering the clues in front of us. That means casting numbers and measurements only. He lives a few hours away and I've never laid my eyes on this engine, I guess I'll have to go out there some weekend and see what I can see. Weird.

Isn't this the way it always goes? You put a Mopar in a Chevy guy's hands and calamity ensues, every time.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110685
11/10/11 11:20 AM
11/10/11 11:20 AM
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JohnRR Offline
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Save yourself the trip and tell him to go to the parts store, like a napa , and get one autolite 24. This 452 head is not like the industrial head that has the waterpump bolted to it . The way to identify it is to look at the front of the driver side head next to the freeze plug hole it I think has two l's cast into it , I think the flat seat plug head has only one.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: JohnRR] #1110686
11/10/11 11:33 AM
11/10/11 11:33 AM
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dem440c Offline OP
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lol I'll make the trip, I've got to see this for myself and I want to see what I can learn about the block too.... after all, at this point the whole thing is suspect. It sounds like it darn sure isn't supposed to be between the fenders of a 69 Charger. I'll pass along your advice and have him try the Autolite AR24's but I have to know more about what is going on here.

Couple of questions:

- what is the history of these heads, what applications were they intended for?

- Why would they need to design a head that uses a funky spark plug?

- what's with the funky casting number 7579007 that appears nowhere on the internet or in any chart I've ever seen?

- is this 007 head basically like any 452 as far as combustion chamber, ports, valve size, etc.?

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110687
11/10/11 11:48 AM
11/10/11 11:48 AM
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Brookeville, Md
Mr.Yuck Offline
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I'm guessing he didn't read the right casting number.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: Mr.Yuck] #1110688
11/10/11 11:52 AM
11/10/11 11:52 AM
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dem440c Offline OP
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always a possibility... all the more reason for me to investigate in person. You know how these Chevy guys are ....

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: Mr.Yuck] #1110689
11/10/11 12:53 PM
11/10/11 12:53 PM
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Quote:

I'm guessing he didn't read the right casting number.




Looks like he read the numbers up-side down


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Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: HotRodDave] #1110690
11/10/11 01:13 PM
11/10/11 01:13 PM
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Turn the number he read upside down and it is indeed a 452 head.

So there are now THREE 452 heads! There's the original 452 with no mark on the front of the head. Then, the story goes, MOPAR engineers changed the 452 head to have more port wall thickness. That head has a "1" cast onto the front of it and back in the day it was found to be better for porting than a regular 452. The bigblock was already known to be phased out so instead of creating another casting number they used the same one with the extra identifying mark.
Now John has pretty thoroughly described another variant of the 452 and my guess is that they were still selling 440s for motorhomes and ran out of the 213 head or whatever thay had been using, so they made another modification to the 452 casting and gave it "11" marks on the ends to identify it.
I bet your friend's heads have a really late casting date.

R.

PS: To further mess things up, not all 213 heads used peanut plugs or had the extra cooling holes. I have a pair that came off a Newport and they use regular 3/8" gasketed plugs and have no extra holes.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: dem440c] #1110691
11/10/11 01:15 PM
11/10/11 01:15 PM
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Quote:

lol I'll make the trip, I've got to see this for myself and I want to see what I can learn about the block too.... after all, at this point the whole thing is suspect. It sounds like it darn sure isn't supposed to be between the fenders of a 69 Charger. I'll pass along your advice and have him try the Autolite AR24's but I have to know more about what is going on here.

Couple of questions:

- what is the history of these heads, what applications were they intended for? Police and Motor home

- Why would they need to design a head that uses a funky spark plug?
to gain the clearance for the added cooling passages , your guess is as good as mine

- what's with the funky casting number 7579007 that appears nowhere on the internet or in any chart I've ever seen? as stated above he read it upside down and not clearly either.

- is this 007 head basically like any 452 as far as combustion chamber, ports, valve size, etc.? see above




As far as it not being the right engine in a 69 charger , was he lead to believe the car still had it's original motor? Is the car an R/T ???

The AR plug is an Autolite Racing plug , a stand plug will not have the AR in front of the number.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: JohnRR] #1110692
11/10/11 10:19 PM
11/10/11 10:19 PM
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Quote:

Probably because he is using the wrong plugs , that looks a later 452 Police/motorhome head and it takes the 5/8" hex tapered seat plug, I used an AR24 autolite.


My 77' Winnebago has heads like that.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: 6PACMAC] #1110693
11/10/11 10:39 PM
11/10/11 10:39 PM
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my 77 MH 440 uses a 5/8 hex,tapperd seat,no washer,peanut plug,
autolight 23

I will be looking for those casting marks on mine to see what they have,I did see some kind roll pin/plug deal on the end of the head but never paid it any attention

looks to me a autolite 23 will screw right in

gotta go look at mine now cant wait till morning

Last edited by scratchnfotraction; 11/10/11 10:40 PM.
Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: scratchnfotraction] #1110694
11/10/11 11:28 PM
11/10/11 11:28 PM
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I looked at mine and I "think" it might have a small nub like in the pic below the plug.

the end of the head has a machined flat with the small core plug boss,it also has a threded set screw in the machined flat,looks to be about a 1/4-20 size. not sure what thats for

I see no other markings cast into the end of the head though.

I will pull the plug to confirm it has that nub under the plug

I didnt know a 452 head also used a 13/16 plug with a flat washer either.

Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: scratchnfotraction] #1110695
11/10/11 11:30 PM
11/10/11 11:30 PM
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joedust451 Offline
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They take the peanut plugs like on the chebbys.

Ok, it just accured to me (but i could be wrong), has anyone looked over there peanut plug 400/440 heads to see if they have these nipples, I'm starting to thing "maybe" they put them there so people would not try to install the old 13/16 plug & have it blow out, its just a thought, but it could be a steam passage.


Last edited by joedust451; 11/10/11 11:40 PM.
Re: weird cylinder heads on 440... spark plug won't fit?!?? [Re: scratchnfotraction] #1110696
11/10/11 11:32 PM
11/10/11 11:32 PM
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Quote:

I looked at mine and I "think" it might have a small nub like in the pic below the plug.

the end of the head has a machined flat with the small core plug boss,it also has a threded set screw in the machined flat,looks to be about a 1/4-20 size. not sure what thats for

I see no other markings cast into the end of the head though.

I will pull the plug to confirm it has that nub under the plug

I didnt know a 452 head also used a 13/16 plug with a flat washer either.




The earlier ones did, I think by 75-76 all the 440s came with the 5/8 peanut plugs till the end of production.


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