I'm pricing out my dream build right now, a 1970 Challenger with a 440. My plans are to stroke it to 512, and supercharge it (probably with a Paxton). I have no idea what cam grind I should go for, or what cam I should use, help?

Also, I was thinking about possibly using an aluminum block for weight savings and to handle greater horsepower more reliably, good idea?

If you decide to supercharge a 440, I'd definitely use a custom cam grind that is meant specifically for your application. Very few people supercharge 440s, especially with a centrifical type supercharger, so most off the shelf cams wont take advantage of the supercharger...although they'd work. Most blower cams have a lobe separation of 112-114 degrees, which will cause it to have a less aggressive sounding idle.

You'll also want to make sure the person designing the camshaft knows the supercharger is centrifical.

I personally think an aluminum block is overkill, but if money is no object...

That's a lot of power...might look at keeping the cid down, that will tame the engine's power delivery to a more electric like power delivery...
Aluminum block is fine, you can always use a 3.910 stroke and something like 4.500 bore...
Hyd. roller cam is what I'd recommend, keep the power peak close to 6200rpm with 6700rpm capability. Good cylinder head like Trick Flow's...will this be a blow thru carb or EFI?
Brian

EFI, I was thinking about doing an F&B Six Pack system with XFI 2.0. Would the aluminum block be overkill for this?

If I decide not to supercharge, and keep it stroked to 512, can I still make 500-600 (maybe even a little higher) at the wheels if I build the engine and transmission correctly with the right rear gears? If I do that, what grind should I look at?

If I do supercharge but I don't stroke the motor, maybe I'll just bore it out to 472. Besides, I've heard a shorter stroke is better for boosted applications.

You really need to figure out what YOU want...if you really want boost then go that way and don't look back or change up anything...if your going to a gear vendors overdrive, building a stroker out of a 440 block will save you tons of $$$ over boost AND aluminum block which is overkill but if you need an aftermarket block is the most viable option at this point unless you come across a good aftermarket cast iron block...which I've seen priced almost as high as an aluminum block!

How much power would I make with a charged 440 vs a properly built NA 512? Is it better to have a shorter stroke with a supercharged engine?

The way I look at it is power delivery...in a street car, traction is very limited so making the delivery stout but electric like makes it more fun to drive and safer IMO...

The blown engine will have more upkeep, cost more in the end but you can easily add power if desired.
The 500+ engine is less costly, less maintenance, great power but not as easy to get more once the combo is picked...

It comes down to what YOU want under the hood...a good builder can give you what your looking for with both combos.

Man...hard choice. I think a supercharger adds to the sexiness of the car but it has the cons you mentioned, and a six-pack fuel injected 512 would also be really cool but it'd be a lot harder to supercharge later down the road, if I decided I wanted to do that...decisions decisions. Would a turbo maybe be a better choice or does it have similar maintenance woes compared to the supercharger?

A Procharger kit will be much easier and cheaper than Turbo as Turbo setups are costly because of the fab work...and they build a lot of heat!
I agree, the blower sounds like the most fun!

My first pump gas stroker was a 400 block with 4.250 stroke and 4.375 bore, it had 9.25 to 1 true compression ratio with a set of mildy ported iron 906 heads with 2.14 intakes and 1.81 exhaust. it had a low deck Edlebrock intake six pak intake with a set of 1970 440 carbs, that motor made 612 HP at 5500 RPM and 644 Ft lbs of torque ar 4500 RPM It made way more HP and torque than I had hope for On your deal with similar C.I. and better cylinder heads and induction your motor will make more powr than mine did I ended up swapping the cylinder heads and intake several times, I replaced the 4.250 stroke crank with a 4.300 stroke to increase the compression ratio from 9.25 to1 to 10.28 to 1 with a set of Eddy RPM heads, that combination made over 700 HP and torque on Oregon 91 octane pump swill up here in Klamath Falls , OR on a DTS engine dyno As already mentioned traction can be a real problem on the street with a lot of power The right foot, gas pedal, controls how fast the car accelerates or how hard the car spins the tires I've been sideways more than once due to tire spin at 65+MPH goofing around on the street with my old pump gas Duster with that motor in it Good luck on your deal, remember that the stock 440 blocks have weaker main webs in them than the stock 400 blocks do, if your shooting for 700 + flywheel HP use a good sonic tested 400 block to start with

Damn, that sounds awesome! I was planning to stick to around 600-700 horsepower so maybe I should look for an aftermarket iron block that's built better?

If I do decide to go the Procharger route, do I want a slightly larger bore and a shorter stroke? Could I bore it to 472? I know a 440 is already plenty big but I like the idea of even more cubes. No replacement for displacement and all that. And just so we're clear, you guys are telling me it may be a bad idea to supercharge a 512 because of power delivery?

And as for controlling power delivery, the XFI 2.0 EFI system has programmable traction control so that could be a help, and the rear gears also make a difference. If I want it to be fast but also very streetable, what would be a good gear for it?

600-700 hp doesn't require a supercharger or turbo. Just a high quality shortblock with some Trick Flow heads and a solid roller cam and you are there. Read thru the Trick Flow heads or look at the current issue of Mopar Action.

This is true, however if you go with a pro charger, you can make the engine real docile, if he desired it that way...a lot of engines we do with pro chargers also run power accessories, and AC.
So if you don't mind a kind of racy idle, then a stroker will work great...but if you want or need the engine to be tame the pro charger works really great.

No matter what you end up with, for the type of things you are noodling about an aftermarket block is a must. Andy's right, a decent set of heads will take you past what the block can handle, web wizards aside. Add any kind of forced induction and you're looking at 800+ horsepower. That equals aftermarket block.

The only aftermarket blocks that are being built right now are aluminum. If you are at all thinking about supercharging later then it has to be Al. And if you're buying a block buy it with the big holes in it so you can get some cubic inches without huge strokes. 4.50 x 4.15 is 528.

Here's what I think: Back up and take a look at it. You can't eat all the candy in the store. How much power can you put to the ground? The engine doesn't need more power than that. An 800hp engine in a car that can only put 400hp on the ground is going to make 400hp. Now it may dyno to 800hp, but if it doesn't hook, it cannot cook. You can probably be beaten by a really well-sorted out 340 car. Also like AndyF is saying, the engine needs to have a smooth power delivery again to get power to the ground. So building a stroker and supercharging it SOUNDS like fun but it's only for bragging rights at the local drive-in, where you'll be begging pals to buy you a hamburger since you spent $28,000 on the engine.

Good luck in your decision process. I believe you'd be overjoyed and blown away by a stout bigblock. It doesn't even have to have bad street manners. A 528 could idle like a stocker and still be more car than you've ever been in. Forget the supercharger.
And buy AndyF's bigblock book and read it twice. Buy Chuck Senatore's book and read it. There are some more out there. Do the research before opening your wallet.

R.

I appreciate all the help, I'll continue to research. Right now though it sounds like just stroking the engine would be best, supercharging sounds like more expense and hassle than it's truly worth. I don't think I want to spend about 5 grand on an aftermarket block either