440 bracket motor

okay, well heres the rundown, im 19, bringing home 400-700 a week depending on how much work we got(commision..)
i pay half of me and my moms rent and i help with the bills also. i also drive 80+ miles roundtrip to and from work so i spend alot on gas a month even though i drive my civic lol.
so to sum it up, im super low budget...

heres what i got to work with, ive got a 72 440 i tore down, from the stamp(j440t) its a motorhome motor. the parts i got are valve covers, the weiand intake, the holley carb, the 528mp cam, harland sharp rocker setup, headers, aluminum waterpump housing, milodon gear drive(missing the cam cover and bearing the cam rides on), and ive got a nice milodon oilpan that was in the car and the converter that was used to go 10.xx's in the car.

seeing that i cant afford all this machine work at this time in my life, im almost considering just getting rings and bearings and sticking the motor together with what i got, i figure i can have some fun in a 13 second bracket car.

my dads car this is going in already has everything, dana 60, msd 7al, 727 i had freshened up(reverse man. valvebody), its got the good driveshaft that i had redone, its got wilwood discs in the front, 10in drums in the rear, manual steering, etc. the car used to run 10.xx's back in the day, and im just looking to get it up and running... im tired of watching racing from the fence.

so option 1 is to get rings, bearings, gaskets, for the the 440 i have, ball hone it, and stick it together with my dads buddies iron heads that have been done up, and id be running the 528 cam i have, along with all of the parts i have to go on it.

or

option 2, ball hone my block, get the standard size L2355F's, a set of rings, bearings, and gaskets, and put the motor together that way, and hope it stays together.

what would you guys do?

i just really want to get the car up and running, even if its slow, and run it at the mopar show at MIR in october, thats my goal, i wanted to last year, but after losing my dad, i just couldnt make it happen...

i need your oppions guys!

thanks for any help!



John Sealock

John,
Put it together (option 1) and go have fun racing. It’s hard losing a parent at any age, but 18 is even harder. Your dad would be proud of the way you’re helping your mother and keeping his legacy alive. Best of luck to you!

I'll give my opinion,
I would save up for the stock sized forged pistons,and put it together with what you have.You can get by with not having a lot of machine work,is it ideal? No,but it will work.The reason I think you need the forged pistons is,depending on the gear ratio/tire size,and the weight of the car,it might accelerate faster than you think.
If the r.p.m's are there,the cast pistons won't last long,and then you will have to start all over.
Good luck

Put it together, it will be faster than 13s. Should go high 11s. Put that cam in at 101-1o2 degrees---torque monster----

thanks guys for the quick responses!

yeah, the last year has been really hard, and seeing that thursday was one year, made it even harder...

i know hes up there watching over us, with my grandfathers!

the car has a 5.33 gear in it, its setup for 1/8th, i didnt think of that when posting, but he ran the 1/4 with that gear.

im leaning towards getting the forged speedpros and just ball honing it and sticking it all together. with those pistons i think id be around 10-10.5:1, somewheres in there.

also, the car weighs probably over 3300lb's, what do you guys think this combo would get me down the track at?

thanks

John

If you're interested here's another option. I have your listed combo already built and sitting in my trailer. It was recently pulled from my 70 GTX weighing over 4000lbs with me. Went 12.5

440 +.030
6 pack rods
TRW pistons
906 ported heads
similar (slightly higher lift) cam
Edelbrock TM7
Holley 750
forged crank

PM me and tell me your story. We also have Honda parts if you every want to go turbo, Crome ECU etc

Did you ever end up getting a steel crank???

Don

yeah, the motor i ended up with is a 72 motor home motor, its got a forged crank, and 6pack rods. only problem is the pistons, they sit like 1/4" in the hole, and according to google, its like 8.2:1 comp haha.

so yes i did lol

also, do you guys know if aircraft stripper will take the paint off of the block? i want to paint er' all up nice like i have done the rest of the car so far, and i gotta get the old crap off first!

I'm on the fence as to the pistons. While the forged is stronger, it's also heavier meaning a re-balance. I'd be tempted to save the $300 on pistons (If the OEM ones are in GOOD shape) and do $300 worth of machine work instead...food for thought.

Okay, so you're (bucks) down and dirty. Save the aircraft stripper deal. Take some oven cleaner and a wire brush to the car wash and go at it. That will get the block cleaner than you think it would.

Make sure you knock the freeze plugs out first. New brass one would be good...add a dab of JB Weld to the perimeter as cheap insurance against one popping out.

Ball hone it and wash it again in HOT soapy water and blow it dry. Go ahead and assemble it with what you have, replacement rings and all. I would use a full grove bearing. Use a steel shim (.017 I think) head gasket and bolt it all together (reusing the stock main and head bolts).

Have the rods been resized? If not, that will be needed with the new bolts.

Get a new oil pump, (standard volume is fine) and a new timing set. The gear drive will need just as much $$ spent on the missing parts AND will eat up HP. Like the main and head studs, it's simply not needed. Plus the timing chain will be a breeze to install!

It SHOULD go low 12's - high 11's as is. BUT, with that much gear it's going to be "done" well before the finish line. Besides I wouldn't want to take it over 6,000 with the stock parts. Hopefully the crank is within spec, (even if on the high side of the tolerence) but be prepared to have it ground 10-10 or whatever it's going to take to get it fixed. The good news is a crank turn is pretty cheap.

It will probably have too much converter and labor real bad in high gear...not having enough steam to use all of that converter.

If you're going to have to keep the gear and run the converter you have, I would strongly suggest keeping it on the 1/8 mile...will prolong the life of the motor and be SAFER with so many stock parts.

On another note, I am very sorry about your loss...but it appears that your folks raised a GREAT son. Your Dad (and I bet your Mom) is VERY PROUD of you!!

If I can be of any help, please feel free to PM me. I've built several bucks down deals (Wait, I'm STILL bucks down...LOL!) That have ran (and lasted) pretty good.

I agree with Dom! Your doing your family proud! Whatever you decide...I hope it runs great,and lasts a LONG time!!!

The gears would scare me way more than using stock cast pistons.

Sorry for your loss! Your dad raised a good son. would recommend 4:56's or 4:10"s if running quarter. If running 1/8 you can get by depending on your RPM. Above all have fun. You have neat car!!!!!Good luck!