polara71
Old Man with a Hat
Doesn't someone open up manifolds to flow better?
So I want to have a 440 built....
- Thread starter carrman
- Start date
carrman
Senior Member
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Any clue what it opens them up to?
I've had such bad luck years ago with headers. Header bolts coming loose. Burning up exhaust manifold and collector gaskets. Burning up spark plug wires. Not to mention bottoming out and flattening every damn set I ever had.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Thank you.
carrman
Senior Member
I wont run headers. I'll keep my hi po manifolds thank you. Some folks are losing sight of what I want to accomplish here. I'm not bracket racing, not running light to light for pinks. I have a heavy convertible I want to make accelerate quicker, and I have a tired 383 bottom end in it now. I want the most streetable power plant I can put under the hood and have it put a smile on my face when I press the go pedal. My thoughts were to stroke a 440 because the kits from 440 source are all the same price. I've already been quoted 700 bucks for the machine work needed on a 440 block. I want to reuse my heads, period. Too much time and money have already been spent on them by the previous owner. Camshaft I'm open to change.
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
I have that now with 135000 miles on the clock. She tired but pulls hard, as mentioned the rear end gear change to 3:23s will help immensely .
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
Every time the compound is pushed through the manifold it will remove some material, I believe you can go as much as you want your only limit is how thin you want the manifold.
carrman
Senior Member
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
It is like a silly putty compound with abrasive in it. It is pushed back and forth through the piece polishing the interior. It will only smooth bumps not remove them.
You guys crack me up with header problems but I have been there, you can't use bolts on a big block and you can't use those white crap gaskets. Use ultra high temp rtv. Oh and quit tightening the F@$& out of everything your breaking the gaskets.
I need to "block" this thread... It just makes me want to get a penile measurement big block too
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Steel crank with 4 speed pilot bore, unknown year. Most likely 69 up or down a year or so. Polished. 010/010.
Block was from a mid-late 70's Winnebago.. 030 over bore, flat decked.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
How many ft-lbs. is F@$& ?
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
carrman
Senior Member
Stan, what's your recommendation for me?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I'm into super reliability and driveability. That means 'What would the factory do? Well I consider the 1969 440 HP engine the ultimate factory BB so I went with a NOS cam but the MP Purple cam is profiled to that 69 440 HP cam.
I prefer 452 heads. Send them to CompuFlow and open them up. I didn't because I needed all the flat line torque I could muster and left them stock for the low end swirl. I should have opened them up. I know I lost up to 50 hp by not doing it. But heads are a moot point for you.
So... spec to the '69 440 HP with a lo rise dual plane intake and the carb of your choice using well known, time tested, tried and true components. Even the stock ignition is more than adequate. All that MSD, et al, **** is unreliable and you can't feel any difference.
Yah, I know. Not at all sexy but I don't like sexy engines.
Last edited:
carrman
Senior Member
This superior to stroking my 383?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
In my own opinion, yes but, I am no guru by any stretch of the imagination. Just a retired truck driver with opinions.
But.., different strokes for different folks.
This debate has been going on since the 60's. It's what makes for such good bench racing. And threads.
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