So, according to almost everyone that responded to my previous post, it would be extremely hard to make a 550 hp daily driver 440 without a stroker kit.....i was trying to use the lunati 60303 for my build since it has a very broad powerband (1800-6000) because i dont want to have to rev to 2200 to get it to move off a redlight in normal street driving conditions. 1. Would stroking it get rid of that problem if i had a bigger cam? And 2. With that cam (or a similar cam/custom cam) would i be able to make around 550 hp on pump gas.

Its pretty simple, the more cubes, the more tractable 550 hp will be. A 535 or 541 cube motor will have that off idle torque you want, and can use a much tighter converter and tamer cam. I would not waste a second deciding to go big stroker after having built 408, 446, 475, 499, and 528 motors. My biggest mistake was selling a 4.5 crank that could have made a 572 out of my current motor.

Anybody know the specs on the 440 Trick Flow put their heads on that made 605hp?
I thought that was a mild build.

10.5:1 compression 446 c.i.d. with Trick Flow PowerPort® 240 cylinder heads
(TFS-61617802-C00),

Trick Flow Track Max™ hydraulic roller camshaft
https://www.trickflow.com/parts/tfs-61602003

(TFS-61602003), 1.5 ratio rocker arms, Trick Flow Track Heat® intake manifold

(TFS-61600113), Trick Flow Track Heat Pro 950 cfm carburetor (TFS-20950R),
Hooker Super Competition headers with 1.7/8" primaries, open exhaust...they hit 550hp@5000rpm.

500+hp is possible with exh., and that Lunati cam (240 T/flow@.500"/290cfm). But you can't beat a stroker for low rpm ++ bottom end for a street car.

You have already said this is a build for a street car. Why are you so fixated on this 550 HP # when you're never going to know if the engine makes that much power or not? Build the engine to suit the application and it will be more enjoyable to drive the car, regardless of the peak HP it makes.

Re a stroker vs a standard 440... up to the limitations of the cylinder heads, camshaft and induction system, a bigger engine will make more torque earlier. The extra cubes will allow for a somewhat larger cam to be used and maintain the same general characteristics for idle, etc. The bigger engine won't need to be revved as high to make the same power, nor will it want to be revved higher if the induction system is a restriction in the first place.

I don't know how much other information you've posted on the car itself (gearing, transmission type, etc.), but it all factors into the engine build parameters.

I think the best chance of you coming close to the magic number you speak of, and with that Lunati cam, is with a 500+ " stroker and trick flow heads. Regardless of the hp number, that combo will make for a very quick and fun street car.

Like Bradh said build it to suit the application. That is the true road to a fun car that drives like a stocker and will fry the tires at will. Combine lots of cubes with good heads, mild cam for the torque range you want, and you will be happy you went that way. Attention to details of what makes a stock type motor faster will put the icing on the cake. By that I mean cold air package, sharp tune, a VERY well designed exhaust, MAYBE underdrive pulleys, etc.

Also, if you are running an automatic, spend the money to buy a high quality custom torque converter that's matched to your combo.

I think you're better off starting from the beginning.

It's a daily street driver 440 B body, right?
Build that, and try it first.


Your original plan is fine except the intake, and even that is not totally horrible but I would suggest run an rpm or a street dominator. Order up some 2" + compression height pistons, Deck the block to within .015 of zero, run a 750 to 800 carb and a 1.75 to 1.875 long tube street header of your choice.

" i dont want to have to rev to 2200 to get it to move off a redlight in normal street driving conditions"

You won't unless you install a loose performance/race torque converter. ...Which many of the cams that will allow you to make 550 HP or more will require.

Your original idea most likely would not make 500 but it will run and sound great, and will make tons of torque, and honestly I'd go with that. It will pull a stock converter and 3.23/3.55 gears all day long without complaint. I still say do that, and get some experience under your belt first. Maybe start testing your combination. And go from there.

Good advice!!

Its a street car that i plan on taking to the strip often. So what i am hearing (i dont know anything about strokers), is that with a stroker kit i could use a bigger cam (say, 2400-6200 operating rpm), but it would still function similar to a smaller cam (like the 1800-6000 cam i want to use)?

You can use a bigger cam, but don't go crazy. Maybe ten more degrees than one recommended for a 440, if you are going over 500 inch. It is best if you get someone to spec out a good cam for what you want to do. Talk to Dwayne (fast68plymouth) who answered here. He can set you up with a cam that will match your needs and make plenty of power. Dwayne has lots of experience and dynos a lot of motors.

Unless there is a target ET, then the hp you make is still just an arbitrary number.

If there is an ET goal you’re trying to achieve, then you need “x” amount of power(minimum) to get there based on the race weight.

The more “street” oriented the overall combo of the car is, the more you’ll need to overshoot the minimum power requirement to still be able to achieve the desired ET.

In general, the quicker you’re trying to go with your dual purpose car...... the more concessions you’ll have to make on the “street” side of the equation.

There are many misunderstandings on cam shaft operating ranges and torque converter stall speeds
If you have not built and driven a motor with a small camshaft and then the same basic motors with a lot bigger camshaft you may think big is bad, it is NOT
I've built and dyno tested a lot(8+) of stock stroke 440 pump gas motors with stock type heads and then with mildly ported stock iron head with bigger valves and bigger camshafts, almost all of them where dyno tested using a Holley 850 to 950 CFM carb.
One of the first motors was a 446 C.I. with stock 906 heads, a mild hydraulic lifter camshaft from Comp and a stock six pack set up, that motor made 470 HP at around 5400 RPM and more torque than HP. The last stock stroke motor had a one off weird grind Reed camshaft that was ground on a 101 lobe center and was a lot bigger on the duration than most of the common street grind camshaft. That motor made 535 HP at 5900 RPM made 500 HP at 6500 RPM with 9.5 to 1 compression ratio with a set of 906 mildly ported heads with 2.14 intake valves and 1.74 exhaust valves
The first pump gas stroker I made was for my own car and it was a 400 block bore to 4.375 with a 4.250 stroke crankshaft and a solid roller camshaft that was 260 degrees at .050 on the intake lobes with .420 lobe lift, it had 266 @ .050 on the exhaust with .409 lobe lift ground on a 108 LSA installed at 106 degrees on the intake lobes. I made it have 9.25 to 1 compression ratio for CA pump swill sold back then before E10 was invented
That motor had a set of cheap Chinese imported rocker arms that where suppose to be 1.6 ratio but checked out to be 1.54 at the valves
I used a low deck stock type Eddy six pack intake and a set of 440 vacuum carbs, I was hoping it would make between 550 to 565 HP. We pulled it from 2500 RPM to 5000 RPM on the first two pulls, it made 592 HP on the first pull and 598 HP on the second pull at 5000 RPM and it made 630+ Ft. Lbs. at 5000 RPM The next pull we moved the RPM up to 5500 and finally made all pulls to 6500 RPM to make sure the motor was tested at peak HP and torque.
That motor was a real eye opener for me on pump gas stroker motors, that motor ended up making 612 HP at 5500 RPM and 644 Ft. Lbs. at 4500 RPM on CA pump swill that day back in 2001
I tested a bunch of different things on that motor on the dyno that day and later on even more parts and tuning over the years
It ended up with a 4.300 stroke crankshaft to raised the compression ratio and a set of Indy SR M.W. port size heads with 75 CC chambers which made the motor have 10.78 to 1 compression ratio, I also replaced the cheap import rockers with a set of Harland Sharp 1.6 ratio rockers that checked out to be 1.65 actual ratio at the valves I used a Indy 400-3 intake with a 1050 Holley Dominator carb, list # 9375 non HP, that combination made 727 HP at 7000 RPM and right at 695 Ft. Lbs. torque on Oregon 91 octane pump swill on a DTS engine dyno in Klamath Falls Oregon which is 4300 Ft elevation
My message is you can make more power with bigger and better parts
That motor was in my old pump gas street 1971 Duster that weighed 3450 Lbs. with me in it and a full stock gas tank ran a best of 9.993 at 134.8 PH in the 1/4 mile at Woodburn Oregon in late summer corked up with the air cleaner on
It had a complete 3.0 inch exhaust system with a pair of Magnaflow 14x7 inch wide oval muffs with 3.0 inch in and out mounted at the rear bumper.
That motor and car exceeded my wildest expectations
Think about what you want and decide exactly what you want to achieve and then go for it
You can achieve anything you set out for, it may not be easy or cheap but it will be enlightening and fun, hopefully
Good luck

the problem I have started running into when I build a big stroker is the typical street car cant take it, you spin the tires way too easily, if you get it to hook it twists up the car, even small block strokers, I built a 402 for a friends 68 notch cuda and after doing the work to get it to hook then the doors dont close right. My 410 in my dakota RT still wont hook even after running big street radials on 13" wide viper wheels, spring clamps, good shocks, I switched to a single plane intake to blow off some low end, I dont want to go bigger cam as I like the way it idles and all but you just make so much TQ it is hard to control especially when you go to a 512 or something, I need to cough up some money for cal tracs or something now. Now if your going to re-inforce the body so it dont distort, and spend time and money on suspension and tires to get it to hook it could be a ton o fun butt then you start breaking driveshafts and 8 3/4s and trannys because 600-700 LBS TQ is easy to make. Seems to me the best combos are 400-450 CID for the street, BB or SB. HP dont twist up the car so go ahead and build it to make the HP but dont go too crazy on TQ.

Keep it simple, keep it 440, 10:1, use your Lunati cam, TF240 heads, best out there...(you can do a lot more later if the racing bug gets to you)..that Holley Street Dominator intake with an 800cfm min. carb and you should make 500hp, but mainly because of those heads flow so well at low lift. 3.23>3.55 gears, that 2200 converter and you have a nice strong running street car.

As far as the track goes, fit some sticky tyres on it otherwise you are just wasting your time "literally". In theory 500hp in a 3750lb car has the full potential to go mid 11's. If you count that down .5 sec for tuning, grip at the start etc., 12.0's are on the cards with that set up. Question is...how fast do you want to go and keep it streetable....if its 10's..add some Nitrous.

That 440 will still have enough low down torque to spin the tyres from traffic lights, which is not what you want, but it should be controllable with some practice. A big stroker motor can make things worse, and you could get blown away by the guy with a small block, strokers are fine for all the reasons mentioned herein but its use on the road can be detrimental in certain situations like light to light races if your not super careful with your right foot.
my2c's.

Ah, yes... the balancing act of compromise.

Performance Goal (ET) based upon:
-> Constraints (e.g., no more than 3.55 gears)
-> Maintenance (e.g., "I never want to adjust valves again!")
-> Reliability (e.g., daily driver, weekend warrior, trailered race car)

Budget based upon:
-> What you have already
-> What you need to buy
-> What you can do yourself
-> What you have to pay someone else to do

I know I said basically the same thing on another thread recently: If you don't come up with a realistic plan and budget at the start, you'll end up spending more in the long run by the time you finally figure out what you should have known in the first place.

And, no, I'm NOT a good role model for this approach. It's definitely 20/20 hindsight in my case.

Thanks for the replies so far, and yes i know the balance is the hardest part, however, as long as i can run it on 93 (11:1 or less with alum heads?) and dont have to rev really high to move from 0, i am willing to sacrifice about anything else (and i dont know how i didnt already, but i shouldve mentioned the fact that i plan on swapping in a manual (deciding between the tko600 and t56 depending on how much torque it makes)

I forgot to mention that I had 4 different sets of heads on that pump gas 400 block stroker motor, 2 with 440 ports sizes and 2 with Max Wedge size intake ports, all with the same camshaft and the last three sets used the same brand and ratio rocker arm set.
On your deal if I was you and knew that your going to switch to a stick shaft tranny in the future I would step the cam up now
I would look for more duration and net valve lift at the valve, I would go for around 240 to 250 @.050 on the intake lobes and a little bit more duration on the exhaust side with the same or more lift
On the heads if you choose a set of the ported Trick Flow 240 heads and a matching intake and a 850 CFM or bigger carb. you should be able to make around 550 HP on 93 octane pump swill with ease with a stock stroke 440 motor
if you choose the larger Trick Flow 270 heads and matching intake you will be north of 570+ HP with al the same parts in that short block, cam and compression ratio.
If you where to go to a 4.25 stroke crankshaft in a stock 440 block with the 240 heads, intake , camshaft and same size carb. and kept the compression under 10.5 to 1 your going to be well north of 600 HP on the same fuel
I have found on aluminum headed Mopar BB motors they will make more torque than HP under 10.5 to 1 compression and make more HP than torque above that compression ratio
Torque moves the mass, especially at the lower RPM, HP moves the car above peak torque RPM

Just yet another thing to add: theres gotta be a catch to the edelbrock 7194 cam right lol? It has 300/308 adv duration but 238/246 @.050 with .480/.495 lift and 110 lobe separation and an rpm range of 1500-6500........ Does the big difference between adv duration and @.050 affect anything? It just seems like that big of an rpm range too is very impressive.