No , there is nothing special about a motorhome block outside of extra cooling holes and there are only certain heads that have those extra holes, none of which are aftermarket.

The HP was STAMPED during ASSEMBLY, it has nothing to do with casting.

As far as different pistons and rods, depends on the year and the engine.

More BS here than in a feedlot!

1. The 4006630 block is regular production from mid 1975 to end of production. NOT a heavy duty block.

2. The date cast into the side of the block is the date the block was cast.

3. The Engine ID pad on top front says everything about how the engine was assembled: Model year, usage, date of assembly, nonstandard parts, etc.

3. HP means the engine was assembled as a High Performance option engine.

4. The 1 or 2 behind the HP means ONLY that the engine was built on Shift 1 or Shift 2. As Shift 2 was the daytime shift it stands to reason that a lot of the Six Pack engines were built then, but that is a coincidence.

5. If it takes living in Detroit to get a $200 440 core, I'll pay the $500 and live somewhere else.

R.

Living in Detroit is not for the weak!

I had a set of 452 heads from Paul Rossi Called Street fighter II... they were the motor home heads with the cooling holes, large valves, and a pocket port.. The cooling holes were to help with detonation.. they worked good for me back in the day..

So John......what exactly (if anything) are you taking exception to in my post???

SOME 440's cast in '76 and later have CONSIDERABLY thicker main saddle supports. The only block we have found to have these supports are the 4006630-440 casting #, which was used from late 75 until the end of production in 1979. In case you have heard that 440's were discontinued in 1978, this was for cars only. 440's continued to be offered in trucks and motorhomes all through 1979, and we have had many 440 blocks stamped with the 1979 model year on them.

Shown above is a picture of a 4006630-440 (1978 model) 440 block. The "A" measurement typically is about 3.190". This is about 60% thicker than the early 440 blocks shown above. "B" typically measures about .520", which is still about 40% thicker. The blocks with these thicker supports were not cast during any specific date period. There is no external markings or numbers which show they are different from the other blocks. They DO seem to be more commonly used for truck motors, however just because you have a truck 440 does not mean it will automatically have the thicker main supports. One important fact is that while 4006630-440 casting # blocks are the only blocks we have found to have these thicker supports, not all these blocks will have them. There appears to be no other way to tell if a block has them or not other then actually looking at the supports themselves. Without the crank and rods removed from the block, it is very hard to tell.

I also had a set of those heads , bought them new , I had Dwayne Porter do some more porting to them after I sold them to a friend, the block I got him for his build also had the extra cooling holes in the deck so it saved me from adding them.

The part about an HP and HP2 being cast of specific shifts, maybe it was a typo on word usage because the foundry has no clue what any block will be used for during the casting process ??

As far as pistons only the 70-71 440-6pk had a different piston , the 350 and 375HP (and 69 440 6pk) 440's all used the same piston in the model year it was built.

Just a clarification since there was some incorrect , and myth's , being thrown about in this thread ...

I don't need someone to tell me the blocks are different. I never said they weren't.

But there were an erroneous statements:

"The best 440 block is from the early 70's NO It was from 1975 til the end!

most likely from a motorhome. NO it was the regular block found in pickups and New Yorkers and vans!

The number stamped on the side of the block is 4006630-440 that is the one with the thicker webs." WOW, finally got one right!

"An HP block was cast on day shift. An HP2 block was cast on swing shift." NO. The blocks have cast into them the casting date and I believe symbols that tell what time they were cast, but ANY block could turn into an HP, HP2 or whatever. Not like the Chevy world where the HP bigblocks will have "Hi Perf" cast into the block.

" Yes the 'HP2 means six pack, or at least six pack rods'" NO the 2 only means second shift. An HP engine is an HP engine, doesn't matter what shift it was assembled on. Whether the engine had the heavy rods or not depended on if it was an HP engine and what model year. So the 1969 HP engines did not have heavy rods, either 4 or 6 barrels, while the 1970 HP engines did have heavy rods, whether 4 or 6 barrels. Other 440s got heavy rods too but haphazardously.

Other nits to pick: While Model Year 1978 and 1979 440s are pretty common, I believe the actual block casting was finished in 1978.. I believe there were some Model Year 1980 440s as well but haven't seen one.

One correction to my earlier post: I got confused on work shift nomenclature. I apologize.

R.

True, I should not have said "Cast" An HP engine was ASSEMBLED on day shift. An HP2 on swing.