440 rebuild

I'm getting ready to rebuild a 1978 440 motor,it's standard bore,I'd like to go 30 over,I'm looking to get 400hp from it when I'm done,any ideas or suggestions on how to obtain 400hp would be appreciated,thanks in advance.

Shouldn't be hard, pretty modest goal, as long as you buy a good set of pistons, tad bigger cam, good valve job, maybe a new edelbrock dual plane intake, and you should be there.

did you mean to say 400hp? without any machining and simple bolt ons 400 is easily achieved. decent idling cam, good breathing intake and 650-700 cfm carb will get you in the ballpark. i'll let way more knowledgeable folks speak up as i only have my build under my belt.

A stock type rebuild with some decent compression pistons (9:1 if iron heads, 10:1 if aluminum) and a mild cam will get you there. You'll have a responsive street engine.

First thing you should really do is take a look at your heads. Decide if you will be rebuilding the stock heads or doing some of the cheaper aftermarket heads like 440 source. Your cylinder head choice will dictate your piston selection, camshaft and machining choices to some extent.

stealth heads. 9.5 CR. .030 quench. recurve stock dist. FREE FLOWING exhaust. one of the newer carbs that lets you adj all of the systems. get an LM2 & dial it in. plasma moly rings. proper breakin procedure. good torque converter

.509 cam?

Seriously,

A stroker kit may not cost a lot more than pistons and their accompany list.

Cast crank and 40+ years old? Why not ?

y'know what they said? "takes cubic DOLLARS to replace cubic INCHES"

I have followed the factory recipe for a stock 68-9 375HP motor with vey good results,
IE: 10;1 compression, factory 375 HP cam, Dual plane intake, decent carb (440 AVS), good free flowing exhaust with manifolds (HP again), set up the timing, fuel system and mixture with a factory performance (1800 or so) converter, 3;23 or 3;55 gears and have FUN !!
Not to say it couldn't be improved upon with heads etc. But the combo works very well for a well mannered street car that will smoke the tires at will and peg you in the seat in 3rd

What is your budget?

Zero deck flat top pistons and after market aluminum heads (Stealth/Sidewinder..) stockish aftermarket hydraulic FT cam (Crower 271 possibly), and a good factory exhaust system. Add 750+ CFM carb on any hp aftermarket duel plane intake. This should put you solidly in the 400 to 425 hp range with no fuss or muss.

You can get there with factory heads, it will just be more effort and cost IMO.

here's a good and cheap build. Call Summit, grab a decent engine kit, specify you want a decent piston. If you are going to use your heads, have them milled, clean up the ports, gasket match the intake and exhaust (but probably easier and cheaper to order stealth heads), pick up the Summit 488 cam, headers, Used CH4B intake, 1/2 spacer and 750 DP carb. You should have an easy 400hp that doesn't break the bank and it will be completely drivable and reliable. I had this set-up in a 67 Coronet with unported 906 heads cast speed pro pistons (maybe 9:1) and the car went 12.90's all day.

440 with a little bit of cam - Nothing says "stay away from an Edelbrock carb" like a 440 with a bigger cam. Edelbrock carbs are excellent in most applications, but the 750 and 800 cfm models don't cut it on 440s with a little extra cam unless you like an off idle dead spot.

I couldn't get below a 13.11 w/ a eddy 750. I rebuilt and dropped a 25 y/o 750DP on it and the car went 12.90 and only would hit 13.0's if it was HOT out. I'd never run a Eddy on another BBM.