Thanks everybody. I'm pretty excited about this car. It's an older "B" body and I was told it was taken to the strip after a restoration several years ago and ran in the high 12's on street tires and closed exhaust but I had my doubts. Reading everyones posts it looks like this kind of performance in not a pipe dream and it should be a pretty bullet proof engine to boot provided it is treated properly.

It will be a street car only for me (Sunday Driver) but it will be nice to know I have the power to show some Mopar Magic to some of these young bucks in their factory performance cars if the occasion arises.
I didn't really say that did I?

Butch

Consider results of the 2009 Amsoil/Mopar Muscle Magazine Engine Challenge. All seven participants utilized 400 blocks ranging in size from 451 to 512 cubic inches. Further, all were required to use Edelbrock RPM heads.

Check out the results - largest values in bold:

Schurbon Engine and Machine - 452ci, 582HP, 544lb/ft

Mid America Racing Engines - 500ci, 697HP, 619lb/ft

Laroy Engines - 452ci, 726HP, 568lb/ft

Chenoweth Speed And Machine - 452ci, 589HP, 518lb/ft

JD Engine and Machine - 499ci, 724HP, 610lb/ft

Promax Performance - 451ci, 568HP, 518lb/ft

R.M. Competition - 512ci, 628HP, 596lb/ft

What a testament to the Chrysler engineers of old that a factory 400 block and 440 forged steel crank can run with the big cube technology of today.

The Mopar B engine lives on!

I learned yesterday the engine was built with a 72-73 400 block, new forged crank, block aligned bored to accept stock crank rather than crank turned down, Eagle rods, Ross pistons, Crane cam just under .500 lift and roller rockers. All balanced, blueprinted and assembled by ex-Chyrsler engine technician (now retired) in the upper east coast area. Heads were built up by Compuflow Heads and mated to a Mopar performance aluminum intake and Edlebrock 750 carb.

Which is the preferred way to do the crank. Turn it down or increase the bearing size of the block? Or does it make any difference?

Thanks,

Butch

Thanks Rapid. Can you tell me why turning the crank down is better than leaving it stock. This engine was built in 2001 before "strokers" became all the rage so the latest stroker knowledge wasn't availalbe then. What kind of problems will a stock crank create that a turned down crank won't?

I don't want to buy into a problem engine.

Butch

Stick a holley 750 on it and watch it go faster

There aren't any issues with boring the block to accept a 440 crank. It is just a lot more work doing it that way and it isn't really necessary unless the engine is going to make a bunch of power. But if the machine work was done correctly then it is a perfectly good solution.

Thanks Andy,

Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a shortcut that could cause a problem in the future.

Butch

Technically the block could be considered stronger with the smaller main size and the crankshaft, though this would seem backwards, can actually be stronger too due to the fact that the factory chrysler crankshafts utilize an undercut journal and grinding it to the smaller 400 main size allows you to have a radiused journal.

Take the Eddy 750 and throw it as far away from your car as you can Seriously, from a guy who has had (2) of them, I'd steer clear of messing with that carb. Sure, they can work, but you'll be ahead in the long run if you start with a good piece. I would think a 750 Holley V.S., or an Eddy 800 thunder series carb would work very well on that motor.