I have a 440 short block... What to do?

Posted By: ONEBADBIRD

I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/03/09 11:16 PM

O.K. I have a 440 short block. I want to do a budget build on this motor. I have not taken any measurements on the motor. Took it down to the short block though and it was super clean inside no gunk at all. It must have always had the oil changed by previous owners. On the pad it has a "Maltese cross" and an "X" which means an 0.010 undersized crank. If I were to drop in new crank and rod bearings in the motor which size would I have to order? I plan on a rebuilt set of iron heads and use factory exhaust manifolds. Change out piston rings possibly? Just plan on using it on the street not looking for any certain 1/4 mile times. Just want to have a motor that can offer up some weekend fun. I'm new to this stuff so just bear with me and some of my questions. Now on some of your budget builds what has worked out for you? Can you give some ideas on what and what not to do. Thanks Jay

Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 12:33 AM

A budget build would be a new set of moly rings & whatever undersize main/rod bearings the malteze cross & the X denote that you have in there now & no need for a new crank. This plan works good in an "over the fender" overhaul with the eng left in the car & is dependant on the bearing clearances & the surface condition of the journals being acceptable & the amt of out of round/taper in the cyls & amt of wear on the piston skirts being acceptable but with the eng out that totally changes the picture & unless the above checked out primo it'd be an excellent plan to rebore with the corrrect pistons to get quench & correct CR with some good plasma moly rings & regrind your old crank if needed. that way you have a solid foundation to work off of & can add on speed equipment later as your budget allows.

Posted By: ONEBADBIRD

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 01:48 PM

Well maybe I should just dig deeper into my pockets and spend the extra coin and get this thing machined and save some money in the long run. I'll have to get some quotes as to what it would cost to get my short block torn down machined and bolted back together? As the engine is already pulled and on a stand. Does anybody have info on what it cost them to have there short block machined/rebuilt. Thanks for the response RapidRobert.

Jay

Posted By: JohnRR

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 02:49 PM

Quote:

Well maybe I should just dig deeper into my pockets and spend the extra coin and get this thing machined and save some money in the long run. I'll have to get some quotes as to what it would cost to get my short block torn down machined and bolted back together? As the engine is already pulled and on a stand. Does anybody have info on what it cost them to have there short block machined/rebuilt. Thanks for the response RapidRobert. Jay

At minimum you would need to have the bores honed if installing new rings , NO torque plate it's beyond the advantage of doing that at this point .

Also it makes little sense to ask on a board with members WORLD WIDE how much it costs to rebuild that shortblock as the only answers that would be a good estimate would be from guys in your local area as labor rates vary GREATLY .

Posted By: DaytonaTurbo

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 03:05 PM

What year of a 440 is it? I assume it's a 70's smogger engine? In any event, if you want to do a budget build you can pull the pistons the hone the bores with either a 3-stone hone or a ball hone, the kind you stick into your hand drill. Technically that's not honing the cylinder, that's deglazing it, but good enough to slap in a new set of cast sealed power piston rings. Then if you want to, you can slap some new standard sized bearings in there. If you decide to do a backyard "rebuild" like this, be sure to install a high-volume oil pump and hardened oil pump drive shaft. You want the HV oil pump because the extra oil flow will take up the slack in your worn bearings / crank journals. A higher capacity oil pan may be a good idea if you're doing this. Then while you're in there you should also regasket the entire motor, install new freeze plugs and a new timing chain/gear set. If you want to do a small cam at that time as well you always could.

If the budget's tight there's nothing wrong with doing a "build" like this. You waste a little money but you can always rebuild it proper later on when the time is right. You can still have a good driving car and some fun on the street with something like this.

Posted By: ONEBADBIRD

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 09:45 PM

O.K. Thanks for your input guys its really appreciated.

Jay

Posted By: Classof70Chally

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 10:16 PM

Quote:

Well maybe I should just dig deeper into my pockets and spend the extra coin and get this thing machined and save some money in the long run. I'll have to get some quotes as to what it would cost to get my short block torn down machined and bolted back together? As the engine is already pulled and on a stand. Does anybody have info on what it cost them to have there short block machined/rebuilt. Thanks for the response RapidRobert. Jay

It depends on what you have done and where you live. Heres a break down of what my machine shop cost were and this is in the past month in the Seattle area: hot tank and bore & hone cylinders $210, Prep block for main studs and line hone crank journals $195, sqaure deck block and hot tank again $220, complete balance job (crank, rotating assembly, damper & flywheel,) $225. All together I had about $1,000 worth of machine work done. If you just go with a hot tank, bore & hone only, you're at about $210. The teardown isn't that tough . If you are not "mechanically inclined" maybe a friend can help. The build up is a bit more crtical but again, with a friend and a couple of aftermarket 'how to' books or a Chiltons or similar manual, it's not that tough. My machinists shop rate is $85.00 per hour so I do anything I can myself.

Posted By: Mr.Yuck

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 10:19 PM

get a summit t-chain set, bearings, their 488 cam, used dual plane intake holley 750Dp and go have fun. some 3.55's or better out back would be nice

Posted By: 440challenger

Re: I have a 440 short block... What to do? - 02/04/09 10:37 PM

I just took a complete 78 smogger and:
New SP Rings,main,cam,androd bearings.
freeze plugs,all gaskets,seals.
New High volume oil pump.
440 source alum water pump housing and pump.
motor mounts,edelbrock rpm intake,
summit 488 cam, summit timing chain
rebuilt 516 heads,etc.

im into it for about 1k now with por15 engine paint,and maybe a few other little things i missed. It should run good,wont know until the summer though!!