i just picked up a super clean 76 440 with under 50k from a motorhome im going to do a budget build looking for right around 9.5:1-10:1 CR with the 452 heads i have OR i may end up getting 915 or 516 heads if thats the better route

my pistons sit about .120 in the hole i didnt believe you guys when reading on here about the later 70's 440s untill i saw for myself


basicly looking for a flat top piston that i can use for a zero deck setup and i will most likely be using hyperutectics to keep the cost down

one more question i have is what kind of power will the stock rods and cast crank handle? is it unrealistic to run 12's with a stock crank/rods?

im running a somewhat weight reduced 85 d100 SWB that currently runs 13.8@99 with a 1.99 60' with a 10:1 360 and a 474 purple shaft 833OD my overall goal with this build is to run 12's





heres what a $300 440 looks like

The 440 'spec' deck height is 10.725", with the stock 6.768" rod length, and stock crank stroke of 3.75" (use 1/2 stroke for calculating piston height to TDC) 10.725 - (6.768 + (0.5 * 3.75)) = piston compression height = 2.082"
Just about all the pistons ate a bit shorter so the block can be decked. Keith Black #237 has a 2.067" compression height (0.015" below deck) with 5cc valve reliefs and it is a flat top piston.
KB also sells a forged version #9953 with the same 2.067" CH, and 5.6 cc valve reliefs.
Speed Pro sells the Forged #2355 piston with a 2.061 CH, and 7cc valve reliefs. Looking at Summit prices, the KB237 = $319.95 set, SP2355 = $367.60,
Speed Pro Hypereuthic flat top 2.060", 5cc # PH147 = $319.92, SRP forged #21345x, 2.062", 6cc, $490.88.

I could not find a price for the KB forged #9953 pistons?
The speed pro #2355 forged pistons are priced good, but they are a heavy piston. The other pistons will be lighter weight. I din't bother posting the other brands like JE, Ross, etc because they were all over $600 set.

I use ross 82008's

As said there is no zero deck 440 piston available unless you pony up for a custom , you can get any of the above mentioned , get the lightest one and see if it's possible to internal balance the engine . the Stock rods , reconed , and the cast crank will be fine for the goal you want , try to get a closed chambered head if you want to try and make it a pump gas friendly combo .

FWIW. the very firt car I raced was a 76 B100 shote wheel base van. First 2 years out it had a mild 360 and turned mid 16 sec ET's. Then I put in the 440. Still a mild street build with the pistons sittng .070 in the hole, untoched iron heads and a very mild cam. Not really a performance bild at all.

I would think you should have no trouble getting into the 12's and might even by pass that and hit 11's.

451mopar: thanks for the part numbers and prices thats going to be very helpful. i went to mancinis site and they list the KB237 as a 9.5:1 piston with 88cc heads i wonder what that CR would be with a set of 915s and im assuming that its no big deal to deck the block .015 to make that a 0 deck setup and with the correct head gaskets i could have a nice quench area with im assuming roughly 10.5:1 overall CR and that should be fine with pump gas...right?

wild bill: im hoping that when this build is all said and done my goal of hitting 12's turns out to be a conservative one. realisticly i want a pump gas driver thats fun to drive on the street but i also want to put up respectable numbers at the track.

if any of you guys out there reading are scratching your heads wondering about a part of this build please jump in, id like to hit my performance goals with a relativly small investment. so stroker kits are out the window, aluminum heads are most likely not going to be used (at least right away) if theres a cheap easy way please point me in the right direction.

i read the post about smogger builds running 12's with stock "mile in the hole" pistons with a cam, headers and intake. if thats realistic i suppose id rather just go that route and save some money for a paint job

As long as the bottom end pumps air, its all good. Heads , cam and convertor can patch up a compression defficiency in short order. The current motor in my car is a stock 76 with stock rebuilt 516, and she burns oil, runs 12.40 at 107. Its as bad as it can get.

Using std numbers if you zero deck the pistons, 5cc valve pockets & a 90cc chamber volume you get 9.7 C/R the longer stroke of a 440 makes a higher compression ratio easier to obtain, but 9.7 without quench is likely gonna ping... If you leave to pistons .015 in the hole the C/R drops to 9.4 which likely is the ideal number without quench...

Now zero deck it, use a set of 84cc closed chamber heads & you'll be at 10.25 with good quench..

KB237's are the pistons you want. Have the block squared and milled so the pistons are all at zero deck and you're in great shape if you want to build for quench. If I was going so far as to rebuild the bottom end, I would spring for a set of edelbrock rpm or 440source stealth heads. Aluminum, closed chamber for quench and good flow, you will be able to run it on pump gas without problem.

I see you saw the smogger 440 thread, so you already know you can run 12's without touching the bottom end. If you do the bottom end and build for at least 10:1 compression you should be running 11's if you can get traction.

FWIW if money is an issue(isn't it always...?) I would be inclined to just go the bolt-on route for now. Your low mileage motorhome bottom end will happily do the job for the time being. You can still give the motor a paint job, regasket it, do cam, intake, headers and do valve springs and seals on the heads and have money left over to take a look at stuff like rear gears, limited slips, transmission issues, etc.

well the only thing thats got me worried is i drained the oil and it smelled like gas... im thinking it may have chewed up the bearings but there werent any chunks in the pan and no sludge under the valve covers or in the valley everything came apart very clean and it had a windage tray and a double roller chain from the factory

ok so lets say i just replace the bearings oil pump and rings what should i do about compression with the stock pistons? would closed chambers and thin gaskets help?

sorry if these questions seem redundant this is my first big block

Roll it over, get a look at the bearings.. If they are ok (probably are) just bolt some decent heads on it (Edelbrocks/MP-452's/Stealths)select a cam that builds cylinder pressure & go have fun....

thats what i was thinking, if i dont have to touch the lower end i could just pick up some stealth heads, RPM intake and a good cam. ive heard alot of good about the XE275HL do you guys think that would be a good combo? im kind of leary on solid valvetrain, ive never dealt with it before, im assuming a hydraulic would just be more maitnence free

I think the 528 cam would be a good choice, the XE275HL might not respond well to the low compression..

.528's are good. You could use 1.6s for more lift too. They only have 60 degree overlap, which is gret for building cyl pressure.
And don't be scared of solid cams...you won't look back..

With the Flat top pistons, Edelbrocl heads, Comp XE275HL (I think?) cam, and a performer RPM intake you will basically have the same 10:1 compression pump gas engine Marlin Davis built for Car Craft about 10-years ago. It made around 530 HP, and 580 ft/lbs?

well i did it, i tore apart the lower end and im glad i did too. a few of the rod bearings were scored and you could see the bronze colored layer in the scratches the mains had some scoring too the last main had some pretty deep marks in it and i can feel the marks with my nail in just about every journal. i think im just going to keep an eye out for a forged crank and do the lower end right

ill just move the estimated completion date back a little

now i just need a bucket so i can start dumping money into it

Those are custom oil grooves..