The price for turning the crank is a bit on
the pricey side but when you figure the
price of the cheaper rods and pistons(chevy)
it will be close to a wash.. a stroker crank
kit might be right as of now.. that would
take care of the bottom end..then look at
the heads and cam.. heads would be my next
step.. just start on the basic block stuff..
if you look around you can buy a lot of the
stuff at reasonable prices when on sale...
none of this stuff is cheap on a high school
kids income but when its done he will have a
nice piece.. have fun with the kid while you can

I would much prefer starting with a used cam and lifter set which wore into each other in the same engine they're going back to. You said you liked the cam back in the day. Yes there are many more modern cams with faster lifter acceleration giving more area under the flow curve BUT the money wasted on a new cam could be put to better use, while eliminating a potential problem breaking in the new cam.

If you search for my handle and .509, you will see that I don't think this cam is all that wonderful. But it can be changed any time. It's a lot easier to swap cams than it is to pull an engine out of the car and clean every oil passage So keeping the current cam is a no-brainer for me.

I agree that the valve guides won't leak around the guides. I have seen similar cracking on heads that were rebuilt. IF you must use stock heads, scout around for a pair of 452 heads, even 213 heads. These are later heads with induction hardened valve seat areas. None of the 440 heads flow sufficient air for a 440 or larger high output engine. There is very little magic in 906s. They came on every bigblock, even the two barrel ones.

I think you're on the right track. Stock crank, stock rods, newer lighter pistons. Stock type heads. Don't pay much for the head cores, they have value decreasing with time.

Lastly, every kid wrecks his first car. It's a truism, but it is based on fact. So he drives carefully. How about with the car loaded with kids chanting "Floor It, Floor It, etc." I'd go a different route. A Hyundai Elantra, 10 years old, or so. They are like anvils, you can beat on them. They are quick, 0 - 60 in less than 8 seconds. I got my 2007 for $3700 two years ago. My car had 91K miles, I'm now at 141K and expect service until 250K. I may have to replace the clutch before too long. You'll do what you want, but be mindful about it. I'd say to the kid that if he can drive for two years without a single ticket, he can drive the Charger.

Good Luck,
R.

New rings, bearings, gasket set, thicker head gaskets to scrub off some compression, dingle ball hone it, and run it.

Life's too short and so are attention spans when you're young. Just get it on the road. Build a hopped up engine later.

Like I said, the cam is probably junk and it really needs some quieter pistons. Leaning towards getting the "factory replacement" rods form 440 Source. I will be talking to my machinist tomorrow...

Don't you dare piss money away by buying new rods. With your build those rods will last another 40 years with a set ARP rod bolts. My machinist only Charged me $100 to turn my crank. If you want a good set of lightweight pistons I suggest calling Racetec. My forged 40 over pistons that I bought off of them only weighed 670 grams. I suggest calling them. Good luck!

If you decide to (or need to) go to 0.060" over, PM me. I have a nice set of 10.25 to 1 Venolia Pistons with 0.990 pins and factory LY rods (bushed to 990 on the small end) that you can have for the cost of shipping. I built almost that exact same RB motor (MP 509 cam, ported Stage IV Heads, Rhodes Lifters, etc) back in 1987. They're all good parts that came out when the #2 bore got a hairline crack on the major thrust side. I'd sonic check your block before considering going 60 over. I'm finally getting around to "reblocking" this spare motor with a 0.030 RB block I picked up from a member here and I'm throwing Eagle Rods into it so the old pistons, pins and rods are all headed to eBay if you aren't interested. This stuff is pretty light so you'll have to rebalance with your crank. My machinist recommended I reuse the LY Rods with new bolts at the power level of this build but I decided to invest a little more in case I ever put better heads and a bigger cam on it.

Back in the day, I cut most of the lawns in my neighborhood so I know what that's like. I'll help pay it forward if your boys are interested in Mopars (none of my kids are). I just dug up a picture of the rods and pistons out of my pictures on paper from film archive so you can see the parts. The pistons have mild carbon buildup from maybe 2500 street miles but I assume that your kids can scrub These parts look fine.

And before anybody PMs me asking for the rods, I'm only extending this deal to "gss" and his boys.

I helped my son build a 340 duster with a 6 pack carb set up. We did the whole car, and he never wrecked it or even got a ticket, he came to races and we raced together. Did a 67 coronet with my daughter as well, probably the best money I ever spent in raising my kids. So keep your boys interested in something besides a cell phone. I currently am building a 440 for my street rod out of spare parts I have accumulated over the years, so its a budget like yours. Stock crank and rods with arp bolts, same 509 cam, used sealed power forged flat top pistons, they are forged with coatings on the shirts. They use a different alloy so they clearance like a cast piston. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Sealed-Power-Speed-Pro-L2266F-Forged-Piston-Set-8-440-Mopar-Flat-Top-1-991-/302433751535?epid=220083592&hash=item466a74d1ef:g:p-AAAOSw7cxZpxyq&vxp=mtr

Used closed chamber 915 heads with hardened seats on the exhaust, and used 440 intake valves. I have a seat and guide machine and its really hard not to crack a couple guide tops when pushing in new guides. I like to put liners in them instead, if they are not worn too much. I have never had the cracks cause any trouble.

PM sent

Well, the kids got the brakes and fuel system all finished. Now they can start on the engine assembly.

It turned out the block had a small crack so we had to use my spare 440. This one turned out to be excellent. It cleaned up easily so I had to decline rumblefish72's amazing offer.

Is the 8915PT the head gasket of choice for a 10.5:1 engine?
Also, I don't see any valley pan gaskets with the heat crossover blocked. Does anyone still make them? Thanks!

Fel Pro still sells the valley pan with no heat crossover passage in them,Fel Pro part # 1215
As far as head gasket part #s you probably mean the 8519PT which is the common Fel Pro replacement Perma torque part #, the 1009 will also work on stock bore 440 motors up to .040 over size well, after that it depends on the heads and blocks used if the 1009 will protrude into the combustion chamber. The 1009head gasket has a 4.410 bore size according to the Fel Pro specs on that head gasket, the 8519PT is a little bigger than that, maybe by .060 to .100
IHTHs

This is absolutely awesome, This is part of what makes the hobby great.

This is the .509 cam I removed from the 440. It has maybe 1500 miles on it. As you can see there is a flaw on the lobe. The corresponding lifter is also pictured, and looks perfect. This is the closing side of the lobe. My machinist, who has never steered me wrong, says it is fine to run. I have never been one to reuse a cam, even if it is perfect, so I am reluctant. My kids want to use it, mainly because the money to replace it would have to come from some other part of the project.

Would we be crazy to use it?

if that cam wears out, you will have to tear the whole engine down again and reassemble. cams aren't that expensive. I would swap it now while its apart

I would buy a better cam than the old one
BTW,I don't like, recommend or use any of the old Mopar purple shaft cams in anything I build

Is there an off-the-shelf cam that is superior in every way?

I really loved that cam. I am sure there are grinds that will provide more torque under the curve and get down the track quicker, but the old 509/292 ran great and sounded great in a street car.

I see Comp makes a replica. I seem to recall Mopar widened the centerline of this cam to tame it a little. The original was 108?

I think the Comp XE275HL will outrun that 509 cam every day. If that isn't enough, the XE285HL will definitely school the .509.

The new MP price on the 509 cam is obscene.
It is available in the 108 LSA original version and also in a 114LSA version to tame the idle a bit. But it still has lazy lift rates and far too much duration for the lift.

My

R.

Yeah you could get a roller for the price of that .509. Comp sells what looks like an exact replica for $200 though. Thanks for the reply, I will look at those Comp Cams cams. I think they may be testing the limits of the factory non-adjustable rockers.

I would run what you have. Clean it up, new valve springs, regasket it and put it back together. You can check the bearings if you want but if they're ok I'd be inclined to button it up and run it. That sounds like a fun old school build, more enjoyable for the kids to toss something back together than to spend a bunch of money and time agonizing over picking new replacement stuff.

for me the biggest issue would be do you want to run pump gas or not.

I already have a set of pistons ready to go, so it will be okay on 91 octane.