440 Iron head build only

I want to build a iron headed 440 using either 915s or 906s and I will be using the Edlebrock performer rpm manifold old school solid cam using isky adjustable rockers. I want the build to be around 500-550 hp with only mild porting since I already know the cost vs aluminum heads so could you guys help me with the specifics what or how you would go about this kind of build? Thanxs

As far as pistons go, you'll need to look for ones that will give you around 10:1 compression. The Keith Black hypereutectic pistons (KB237) aren't too pricey and will probably get you around 10.75:1 with the 915s, which is a little high, but if you're using the right cam (and maybe a thick head gasket), you'll probably be OK on pump gas.
You may want to repost this in the Unlawfl Race section. They can give some good advice on cam selection, etc.
Good luck.

Good porting is important.

Flat top piston @ zero deck, and good porting on 915 heads, big cam for both power and knocking down the cylinder pressure. This should get you close.

My old 440 is just about what you want to build. It was a .030 over 440 with 906 heads I milled and I used the KB quench pad pistons to get quench. It was at 10.0 comp and I did some porting on the 906 heads myself. I used the MP .557 solid flat tappet cam and Isky ductile iron rockers. I ran the Holley Street Dominator intake with an 850 DP carb. MP ign and a mallory dist and I used Hedman 1-3/4 headers. It was nice running car that drove great on the street and ran as fast as 11.49 @ 116 in my 3700 lb 63. You can click the link in my sig and read some info on the 440 build also. Its the first eng as the updated eng build in late 2011 is the 493 I run now. Ron

with 915 heads use a flat top piston. with 906 heads use a quench dome piston.

bite the bullet and get some professional head work done. it's money well spent.

Add me to the 915 head crowd.

trying to get a quench dome piston fit properly into an open chamber head is a ton of machine work unless you can find a set of heads that have already had the required machining done.

Check the tech archive for the default 500 and 600 hp 440 builds posted by fast68plymouth.

setting up quench dome pistons for open chamber heads doesn't "require" machine shop work. i've done this many times. there is some measuring required and any chamber work can easily be done by hand.

setting up flat top pistons with closed chamber heads will still require measuring. before i blew a bunch of money on 915 heads i'd take a look at the sidewinder heads. the sidewinder heads with a light weight flat top piston and rod is where i'd be looking.

Your goals are acheivable with the correct parts, I've done it with 9.5 to 1 compression, 906 heads with 2.14 intake valves and 1.81 exhaust with mild porting and the Performer RPM intake with a 4781 850 Holley D.P. carb more than once The cam needs to be big enough to flow a lot of air and have more than 6000 RPM at peak HP, which means as much lift as posssible
The old school cams got left in the dust by progress The last one of thos pump gas motors I built and dyno had a Reed solid lifter flat tappet cam with 104 LSA and a lot of lift, I don't remeber the grind number now but look at Reeds selection on BB Mopar cams and go from there
Good luck, let us know your results

You've just entered the horsepower race and you have tied a cast iron head to your leg. Not logical to me. You should know going in that either the 915 or 906 (or any of the other open chamber heads) will flow, stock, a maximum of 230cfm. That'll just barely get you 500hp and is the reason the poster above had to crutch head flow with a pretty big cam.

Furthermore, unless you can find a set of heads that have already been ported and have a fresh valve job, you will spend more $$$ getting them ported and ready than you would on a pair of Stealths. Fast68 did a writeup on the subject and he's a professional head porter.

So before you spend a nickel on your cast iron heads, get a written quote on the cost. Then compare alternatives.

Another fact to consider is that Chrysler dyno tests of stock 440s usually ended up with a maximum of 335hp, and that's after hours and hours of running. This was covered in Mopar Action (RIP) several years ago in an interview with a former Chrysler employee.

I understand nostalgia, it can be powerful at times. Yet, the advantages of more modern technology are very hard to overcome with the old style parts.

R.

^^^ yeah goes no Mopar, ever, in all time has ever went fast or made 400hp with iron heads.

There's a cost factor with the cast iron heads you may want to consider. The 906 and 915 heads do not have hardened exhaust seats for unleaded fuel. The later 452 head would require less work than the other two heads. If larger valves are installed then new exhaust seats should accompany.

The open chamber 906 or 452 head can get you a compression ratio that will help make power, but keep in mind that 9.5:1 is enough to reach your goal.
The open chamber design makes it difficult to obtain the quench most builders strive for today, and .04" quench will go a long way to deter detonation and preignition. If you're going to buy exhaust seats and stay cast iron then the 915s is the choice.

A cheap Speed Pro l2355f30 $422 from Summit can get you what you need for a few hundred dollars less than other forgings, but the other forgings are really good pistons and weight a bit less.

So, on the cheap a Speed Pro piston on stock rods with worked over 452's can get you 500hp. It'll take a thumper of a cam to compensate for the heads.

2.061 piston
6.76 rod
1.875 throw
-10.72 deck
=.021 below
.02 steel shim head gasket
88cc head
=9.6:1

Shave the heads to 80 cc and you're at 10.3:1
Put a set of Edelbrock 84cc on it and you're at 9.96:1 with .045 quench. personally I'd go straight to the TFS 240 head.

The cam will need 240 to 250 duration, minimum, depending on the head flow. The better the head the less cam required to meet the goal.
The MP 528 mechanical is cheap and it works. It's a good place to start.

The Moparts tech library has a few simple 500hp combos.

This Icon piston would be an excellent choice, if this price is correct.
http://www.cnc-motorsports.com/icon-ic9953-030-fhr-forged-flat-top-pistons-4-350-bore.html

This piston and a TFS 240 head at 78cc yields 10.68:1 and would put you way north of 500hp.

Talk to IQ52 (Jim LaRoy), he has devoted a lot of time porting stock heads.

I did want to say that on the 440 build I used to run I posted that I used 906 heads and quench pad pistons because I already had them so I used them. But if I had not had them I would have used a closed chamber head like the 915's and a flattop piston as I feel its easier to work with then the open chamber heads and quench pad pistons. Ron

I would lookup Dulcichs' iron head porting articles (Muscle Motors iirc). Good info. iirc said the 452's are a FAR better candidate for porting (if not cracked) but as said there's the OC issue to deal with but OC might be needed with quench domes if you want quench (as said wont be cheap) if you cannot get quench with flattops/dished and 915's. definitely unschroud the valves on the chamber ends. measure twice/check your budget/get estimates & go from there

Step by step, using a bunch of old parts we had laying around, to take a 440 using the old replacement 6-pack pistons, 346 iron heads, 8.9:1 compression with an RPM manifold making 404 HP and 483 torque to 524 HP and 509 TQ. Then to 650 HP with EZ heads using the same shortblock and an old roller cam ground in 1968.

440 from 404 HP to 650 HP

I can only think of three reasons to consider using OE iron heads for a build like this.....

A- you already own a nice set of them, that have already been machined/ported/assembled with the components you require to reach your goals.

B- you are going to compete in a class where running OE iron heads is one of the requirements.

C- you have all the skills needed and equipment required to do the job yourself, and like doing that kind of work........ As well as a few sets of usable cores on hand.

Okay........ Maybe one more....

D- you have a car with some racing history and want to keep it as period correct as possible...... And accept that if none of A, B, or C from above apply, you're likely going to spend more money on the OE iron heads than you would if you bought certain aftermarket heads.

Or, you simply want to. Some of us are silly that way, as you know

And a lil crazy.. like in my case

I have some crazy modified stock iron intakes too, one from fast68plymouth ... and one that was acid ported ...

Foul, moving the goalposts. Changing the goal for 500-550 to 400 hp. Here are a couple of iron head builds by fast68plymouth Default 500/525 hp 440 from the Tech Archives Default 500 hp build form the Tech Archives

I have never heard of acid porting? How does that work?

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2197435

Acid porting is usually used to cover up grinding and real porting work done with carbide bits It makes the cast iron look like porous cast iron again

Cheating

Only if you get caught.

That be true

I have four sets of iron heads being done here at the shop right now, and another set on the way.

Iron still lives on!!

3 sets need to be iron for what the owners are doing with the cars, another set doesn't "have to" be, but really "should" be....... The last set, they wouldn't really need to be, and if it were my decision, I'd probably use stealth heads on it, but the car owner wants to use the original heads.

not every application needs aluminum heads and/or stroker kits, but online people will gladly spend your money for you

Rarely is it less expensive to rework iron heads than buy aluminum, if there are "budget friendly" aluminum heads available for what you're building....... And that's the case for BB mopars for sure.

Oh, and I had forgotten about one set....... So, 5 sets here, another set on the way

I always get a Kick out of the reply's in threads like these. Here the topic of the thread is "440 Iron Head Build Only" The next time I'm at the mall and see someone making a wish and throwing their hard earned coins into the fountain... I'm going to let them do it...Despite what Moparts has taught me

My advice to the original poster is to call the guy with 5 sets of iron heads in his shop.

That reminded me....... There's actually 6 sets here...... and another on the way.

Oh, and that's just the Mopar heads.

I'm not sure if iron hemi heads count, but if so..... Then add another set.

Got a few others of some different make iron stuff here as well..... And more on the way.

I don't mind working on them at all.
As long as the person having them done understands that quality work takes time...... And time is $$$$.

I'm one of the few guys that still thinks there is a place, albeit limited, for iron heads. If you are looking for max power without other personal choice restrictions, iron seems silly.

But, if you are in the 500 hp or less bucket you simply don't need aluminum after market either. I am not an anti-Chinese guy, but if I can reach my goal with iron, and pay a local guy (my first choice) or a domestic guy $1600 to do work, that will be a serious consideration for me. In this power range, it is the weight savings that puts me on the fence.

The weight, and the cost/ease of getting good quench........since there are far more open chamber heads than closed for the iron lovers to use.

You got pictures of that?

Two years later, John, and I’d like to see those pictures now.

Bill

Not work I did, but here’s a couple of pics of a low deck intake that is being used in FAST & Super Car.

Looks nice... I wonder if the same treatment would benefit my Edelbrock RPM air-gap too?
There are some recommendations out there to cut the divider down to near the floor...

Edited to add: https://board.moparts.org/ubbthread...ove-divider-on-a-two-plane-manifold.html
There does not seem to be a firm consensus.

I thought I read where folks tried this mod amd hurt it. Cool if it works.

I can tell you that the intake in the pics ended up that way thru testing in the car at the track.

That's awesome.....I just thought I read once where people had tried this and it didn't work...didn't mean no disrespect.

Part of it might be what determines “doesn’t work”.

The intake in the pic is being run in a car that’s racing in FAST and Supercar...... and what you see is what the owner ended up with while chasing ET/speed.
I did a similar job on one years ago for another competitor in those same racing series...... and he commented that even though it was quicker at the track, the low speed throttle response and snap was def worse.

So, it’s probably not the hot ticket for a mild street/strip 383.

I see....If I'm remembering correctly.....I'm thinking it was tried on a small block six pack intake.

I saw years ago where Rich Ehrenburg (sp?) tried the Vanke-like mod on a BB 6-BBL intake... didn't go well, as I recall. His attempt cut basically the entire divider from each 2-BBL plenum.

Before he did that, I did a less extreme version on my 440 6-BBL intake that picked up a little on the track, without hurting streetability. My approach was to lower the dividers similar to an Edelbrock Performer RPM for a BBM... maybe a little lower. Track improvement was .5+ MPH, not huge.

Good stuff