Decided to upgrade..440

[440Kilmartin]

zero deck is key

 

[MuscleCar91]

zero deck is key

I was thinking about that because if I remember right the piston sits in about .350... I am going to call a shop today to see about getting it bored 30 over and balanced. Anything else I should consider while there?

 

[Big John]

zero deck is key

I was thinking about that because if I remember right the piston sits in about .350... I am going to call a shop today to see about getting it bored 30 over and balanced. Anything else I should consider while there?

More likely .035.

 

[CompSyn]

That's cool with the A12 lift-off hood combo you've got going on, 440s are hard to beat power per dollar. I do however appreciate the nostalgia of a nice 383 Road Runner or Super Bee that's actually retained the original 383. It's sort of rare when you consider how many have been converted to bigger cubed power plants.

BTW, what year is your 440? Wondering if it's a cast or forged crankshaft?

 

[MuscleCar91]

Yeah it's about .040 of an inch. The .350 was of a 1/8" I think.

That's cool with the A12 lift-off hood combo you've got going on, 440s are hard to beat power per dollar. I do however appreciate the nostalgia of a nice 383 Road Runner or Super Bee that's actually retained the original 383. It's sort of rare when you consider how many have been converted to bigger cubed power plants.

BTW, what year is your 440? Wondering if it's a cast or forged crankshaft?

Thanks, I too enjoy a # matching car but my roadrunner is a clone it's actually a 318 satellite. The 440 is a 68' block, the crank looks steel it's shiny silver but the Id pad says it was cast? "E" stamped on it...

 

[sixgunrunner68]

It's easy to tell,a cast crank will have a thin line of casting flash on the unmachined surfaces where the mold split.
Forgings won't.

 

[69hemibeep]

It's easy to tell,a cast crank will have a thin line of casting flash on the unmachined surfaces where the mold split.
Forgings won't.

Or just stand it up and tap a counter weight with anything metal and listen to is ring. Music to my ears

 

[MuscleCar91]

Thanks, I will have to pay more attention next time I'm looking at it.

 

[MuscleCar91]

pulled the crank out. I'm 99% sure it is a forged crank even though the id pad said it was cast... It has wide parting lines (Not narrow like cast) and it has stamped numbers. Now one thing I read was the dreaded rear main seal leak from reverse cranks due to the groves on the crank digging into the seal. Any idea which way the groves should be running?

 

[CompSyn]

I think I heard that all cast cranks have the engine displacement casted on them e.g., 400, 440.

I took apart a 1969 440 non-HP motor before and the pistons were not dished like the ones in your pic. That's why I was thinking you had a later low compression engine with a cast crank.

 

[MuscleCar91]

I think I heard that all cast cranks have the engine displacement casted on them e.g., 400, 440.

I took apart a 1969 440 non-HP motor before and the pistons were not dished like the ones in your pic. That's why I was thinking you had a later low compression engine with a cast crank.

Yeah I also thought that was the case because there would be no need for such a strong crank and the Id pad indicated it was a cast crank. I wa able to find a picture that compared the two and mine looked just like the forged crank. It had a couple stamped things on it unlike the molded cast would of had as well.
Anyways, does anyone have any tips for getting sludge and rust bits out of the block? I am still finding chunks of solid crap that I have to dig at and loosen up then flush, repeat...

 

[ACME A12]

pulled the crank out. I'm 99% sure it is a forged crank even though the id pad said it was cast... It has wide parting lines (Not narrow like cast) and it has stamped numbers. Now one thing I read was the dreaded rear main seal leak from reverse cranks due to the groves on the crank digging into the seal. Any idea which way the groves should be running?

That "E" you referred to in an earlier post on the engine ID pad is probably not the indicator for a cast crank. It is probably for the engine year - as in 1969. If your engine has a mid to late 1968 casting date then it is (most probably) a 1969. Here are the letter codes for the corresponding year for any MoPar engine.

A 1965
B 1966
C 1967
D 1968
E 1969
F 1970
G 1971
H 1972
J 1973


The chances that you have a marine (reverse rotation) crank are probably pretty slim...there are countless tips on rear main seal installation on here - just search - it will be fine.

 

[MuscleCar91]

pulled the crank out. I'm 99% sure it is a forged crank even though the id pad said it was cast... It has wide parting lines (Not narrow like cast) and it has stamped numbers. Now one thing I read was the dreaded rear main seal leak from reverse cranks due to the groves on the crank digging into the seal. Any idea which way the groves should be running?

That "E" you referred to in an earlier post on the engine ID pad is probably not the indicator for a cast crank. It is probably for the engine year - as in 1969. If your engine has a mid to late 1968 casting date then it is (most probably) a 1969. Here are the letter codes for the corresponding year for any MoPar engine.

A 1965
B 1966
C 1967
D 1968
E 1969
F 1970
G 1971
H 1972
J 1973


The chances that you have a marine (reverse rotation) crank are probably pretty slim...there are countless tips on rear main seal installation on here - just search - it will be fine.

Thanks a lot!
I guess that could explain it. And yes, between here and the rest of the interenet I have heard how to take care of the rear main seal. It had rope in it before and figure thats probably what I should put back in. I'll let the shop look at the crank when I take everything down.

 

[MuscleCar91]

Well I'm about to take the engine down to the machine shop this week. I just have a couple more questions. First off, I have flushed the engine countless times, and yet I still get pieces of rust and grim here and there. I'm going to clean it a couple more times but as you know it is hard to get in side. The water was coming out pretty clean until I removed all the freeze plugs and the junk was filled higher than them... After a couple hours of scraping with tools and finger nails it looks fairly good. I'm just wondering is there anything you guys recommend trying to maybe loosen up anything else in there? I am probably going to take the power washer to it but my dad was saying I should try running some rust remover through it. What do you guys think? I'm just afraid of something coming loose down the road and causing problems...

 

[george68hemirr]

ASK THE GUY TO BOIL OUT THE BLOCK BEFORE THEY DO ANY WORK TO THE BLOCK....THAT WILL ALL COME OUT

 

[Basketcase]

and while they're boling the block, get them to toss in the intake,water pump housing. It takes all the old paint off.

 

[MuscleCar91]

Hmm.. Thanks guys, I will have to look into that. I'm sure it will pay for itself. but what does it typical run? So I need to get it: boiled, magnaflux?,decked and bored. Anything else I should consider? Man stuff is adding up...

 

[V269]

ASK THE GUY TO BOIL OUT THE BLOCK BEFORE THEY DO ANY WORK TO THE BLOCK....THAT WILL ALL COME OUT

Yep, get her hot tanked. Then get it crack tested and this will determine if you go any further with this block.

 

[MuscleCar91]

Stopped in yesterday to ask questions. Sounds a little on the high end but the shop was recommended to me by Joe Gerdelmann as the only person he lets touch his hemi's.

 

[MuscleCar91]

Dropped the engine off today, he is going to magnaflux and clean the engine before going any further and if all looks good boring 30 over as well as balance it, deck it and clean up the front. He gave us a tour of his shop and all that fun stuff. Can't wait to finish this engine so I can go reallllllly fast