I was wondering how much effort does it take to balance a forged stock 440 crank used in a stock 426 hemi. Just a street build, but with thoughts to back fit into a 4 speed B body. Would allow the existing FW, Clutch, housing/starter etc... to be used.

Stock hemi rods, with either stock or after market pistons at stock compression. Is this still weight removal, or do you get into having to add weight to the crank? Any other pitfalls? Understand this was done back in the day when hemi cranks were harder to come by.

Take the rotating assembly to a machine shop and see what he says. You'll most likely be several hundred grams short which will get expensive. You might be able to do it if you used aftermarket rods and aftermarket forged pistons. Probably be cheaper to just buy a new crank.

You'l need a different flywheel and as stated prior this has been done in the past - often . Also as stated prior, by the time you clean up a stock crank and have it balanced you could buy a new crank.

I did just what you are wanting to do 30 years ago. Didn’t have anybody close to rebalance it, ran it the way it was, worked fine, no vibration. Was a four speed car, used original pistons and rods, also. Was back in my not so educated days. ???Jim

hemi rods will mess stuff up. 440source has a lightweight h-beam rod and find a piston/pin combo less than 1000grms and you should be ok to balance, but I have to wonder if jumping thru these hoops is worth the expense.

How much is Mallory (heavy) metal in your area per ounce now?
The last time I had to have it used in a crankshaft for balancing was a long time ago and it was $100 per ounce then
For a street build I would look at using some after market BB Chevy type H beam long rods, 6.700 or 6.800 and have the440 crankshaft offset ground to 3.91 long with a custom set of pistons

My bud has a 440 steel crank and six pack rods in a hemi. The builder used lighter weight than oem pistons I think JE is what he used. Balanced fine. I don’t think he had to use heavy metal either.

I contemplated using a 440 crank in a hemi once. They are not really a good crank to start with as a lot of racers thru the years have cracked them after one season. They are rolled/compressed undercut and not filleted. And not the same steel (1053) as a modern steel crank (4340). Needless to say they all talked me out of it.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2083600/1.html

Thanks, yes old Super stock motor builder who happen to be a world champion said they did it in the day too, but he also said the Chrysler guys said you didn't need to balance the assembly either back then. I guess not for a few 1/4mi passes.

I have everything to go stock, but crank had crack. Since it was a back fit to a 383 car, with an available 440 crank decided to ask. 440 to a hemi stock sure looks the same, and both are undercut. But adding weight would be a no go I guess.

Got it on the new crank, and I can get one at a reasonable price but I am starting to say no to Chinese regardless of the quality. Which may mean finding an old hemi or use the old 440. Of course no to Chinese may also mean find a new hobby.

ohio crankshaft has everything you need,use a hemi crank instead of short changing things

I've used ten or more of their forged steel stroker cranks in street Hemi,RB and B motors. All of them had the stock street Hemi 8 bolt pattern and 1/2 inch thread size

I’m thinking the Stock and Super Stock guys used the 440 crank because it was LIGHTER. Big name engine builders been using the 318 cast crank in the 340 cars for years because it’s lighter. Cast cranks in 383-440 also, about 8 pounds lighter. I would use the 440 crank so the balance is off a little, street car!

FYI Not all (if any) Street Hemi cranks are not Filleted and the metallurgy between a 440 crank and a Hemi crank from the same period are about equal other than the Hemi crank has been heat treated,. I've cracked open the bottom end on several street Hemis and None of them had a filleted crank.

Race hemi or street hemi, none of them that I have heard of or seen that had the stock cranks in them had non fillet cranks in them
Direct Connection sold Moldex and another after market brand replacement cranks that did have them though, I'm thinking those cranks where

im just saying stock 440 cranks dont seem terribly reliable in a bracket car. If the hemi crank is the same as it is then i dunno why it seems to have a better record. I myself just bought an $800 ohio crank and was done with it.

hi

i think you can use a 6 bbl or late 440 cop car / truck crank with the heavy rods as they have heavier counter weights so may not need heavy metal ?

Thanks. Again, this is not a race motor, just a cruise motor. The ability to use all the parts bell house back becomes a convenient cost saver. The car is already unique with a dana put in 30 years ago. Most of this is hobby time, and learning how to build a hemi right from the blue print perspective, acknowledging that the 440 crank is a material down grade from a higher end performance perspective. So keep rotating/reciprocal weight down, and see if I can find a crank that has heavier counter weights.

Those are externally balanced engines. He may not want to go down that road.

In all the years racing I’ve seen one crank break (of course we never tried to make 1000 hp on them either). ALWAYS had a good oiling system to. I say use it, Chevy uses 6 bolts for flywheel, that street Hemi won’t break that 440 crank.

I weighed 4 cranks I had in my shop years ago. A steel 440, cast 440, a steel 383 and cast 400 and they were all 76 lbs, I was surprised. I used a cast 318 crank in a 340 NHRA stocker engine I built for a customer once, it was about 5 lbs lighter.