Hey guys, I've got a line on a 440 shortblock, the guy who owns it says it's a 77-78 casting with flattops in it. Brand new still in the crate.
My question is, is this one of the mopar performance short blocks (he didn't know) and is it worth getting to build off of or am I better off using what I have now which is a 71 hp motor.
He wants 1300$ if that pushes things one direction or the other.
I need to watch the $'s here. Darn it.
Thanks for any advice.

A 77 shortblock build will have the pistons down in the hole quite a ways. I would always choose to start with a block, and build the motor I want, choosing each component for a specific reason. Rather than buy a short-block built by somebody who had no idea what I want to do with the motor.

I would build your 71 so you could order pistons that would give you quench which I'm sure that shortblock would not have and a factory assembly line type shortblock is not going to be built with the care and precision that you would undoubtedly be putting into your 71 since you'd be monitoring every step in the rebuild. Also factory balancing is not noted for being precise. Do it your self & you'll KNOW you have a good foundation and any future upgrades or additions such as cam/carb/intake/heads will not be(potentially) compromised by an inadequate shortblock

Thanks for the responses guy, about what I thought. Not to be a pest but a bump for the weekend crowd.
For some reason I got it in my mind that the first mopar performance shortblocks were based on the 77-78 blocks, or is that just the fog of age talking?

Stick with what you got. $1300 can buy a lot of horse power with the block you already have.

I think it would be a stock replacement crate mill...