My 440 Conversion Engine Rebuild

[Darrel]

Yeah I think you're good. I had 4.11's with 33's a little too steep for long trips. Your big block will easily turn 3.73's. I would even go 3.54's if you had a manual close ratio box.

[Jonsalter74]

I figure 3.73 would be a good choice for road driving, I have a 727 torqueflite that I am rebuilding for this motor.

[Jonsalter74]

Ok here are some pics of the work I did this weekend. Basic clean up stuff. I painted the block.

I also checked the heads for leaks and CC'd the cylinders. I know this is not how a machine shop does it but I saw a video on you tube about how to check them for leaks. I first blew the dust off the heads then filled the intake and exhaust runners with Break Clean above the level of the valves and watched for leaks. Out of 16 valves I had one leak, it was more of a slow seep. But for good messue I stripped the heads, cleaned them, and lapped all the valves. These heads looked like they were in good shape. The seats did not have any significant pitting or marks. These are Mopar 452 castings, they have 95cc chambers and hardened seats for use with unleaded fuel.

So when I took out my suction cups out to lap the valves they were cracked and no good so I opted for the drill method. I know it is not best way but it seemed to work well, I just set it on low and made sure not to apply a lot of pressure to the seats. The seats cleaned up well and the leak stopped on the one valve that was leaking.

I also grabbed the die grinder and did a little gasket matching on the heads as well making sure not to hit the seats. It will probebly not make much difference as I did not do any other work to the heads but while the heads are off why not do it.

I also painted the heads did just for fun hung the header and put the valve covers on it.

[Jonsalter74]

Ok I was just checking things out last night and I am not sure about this. I laid the manifold up on the heads and there is a hole that is not covered by the manifold. This freaked me out so I ran out and checked my spare heads that are a different casting number and they have the same hole and they were produced in '62' my current heads were produced in '78'. Does any one have any clue what these holes are in the heads? I have tried searching online but have not found an answer. I do see some pictures of people running their motors with the opening open. I also see that almost all aluminum performance manifolds for this motor that say they work on all stock heads drop down and would leave this gap open.

On these heads the exhaust crossover is directly below the bell shape but is not connected to it. I was wondering if this was some sort of hole for casting or it it is a water cross over?

It has been so long since I broke this motor down that i dont remember if these were this way stock. I know that when cleaning both sets of heads there was a lot of debrie in this almost as if it was open to collect stuff.

Thanks

[ruderunner]

Just an air pocket around the exhaust crossover. As long as the gasket and manifold seal the smaller passage in the middle it'sno problem.

[Monte Lauer]

Originally Posted by Jonsalter74

Ok I was just checking things out last night and I am not sure about this. I laid the manifold up on the heads and there is a hole that is not covered by the manifold.

Thanks

That is normal, it's supposed to be there.

[Jonsalter74]

I am in the process of building my transmission for this motor so this thread has been put to the side for a couple of weeks. However I did purchase some valve springs and retainers this week. I recieved them in the mail and mocked them up on a valve stem. Valve Locks did not come with them and the stock ones leave the valve too far down in the retainer. I bought a set of new 440 Source Springs and retainers from a guy that took them off a set of new heads and replaced his with Comps. I learned after the fact that 440 Scource heads use a 11/32 valve stem and the stock valve stems are 3/8.

I guess my question is will these work on a stock valve stem with new valve locks. Should I order the 440 source valve locks and us a 11/32 valve lock on a 3/8 valve stem, will that even work? I figure I can use 3/8 vavle locks in the retainers as long as I get the proper degree valve lock. My other question is do the valve lock degree and the retainer degree have to match. For example can I use 7 degree retainers and 8 or 10 degree locks. I have not done this before so any thoughts are more than welcome.

Thanks

[Texas_Scout]

I have been wanting to do this also. I have a 73 scout and a 76 dodge rv. I may need to contact you when my 345 is dead.

[Jonsalter74]

Thanks, it is coming together slowly but surely. I solved my lock and retainer problem. It looks like the retainers I received are not for the 440 source stealth springs like I thought they were. It turns our they are a set of 10 degree retainers, score on my part since I guess 10 degree locks are stronger than 7 degree locks. I ordered a set of matching 10 degree locks off eBay that are machined locks rather than stock stamped locks that fit my valves.

This weekend is scheduled to start the assembly of the motor. I will take some pictures as it comes along

[Jonsalter74]

I finaly got some time in the garage and started to put things together. I reassebled my meads with the new springs, 10 degree locks and retainers, and valve stem seals. I used the press to put on the springs. I did not have a valve spring compressor, it worked well, I just had to make sure I was not putting any pressure on the valve. I notched a piece of 1.5 inch pipe so I could reach in and put the locks on the stems.

I also put the crankshaft in. It went in perfectly. This is a 413 forged crank that I am putting in my 440. 440 forged cranks are harder to find than 413's and they are the same crank. All 413's had forged cranks through the end of their production. As I found out the only difference is that sometimes the 413's had lighter pistons and require that weight be added to balance the assembly. If you use nice light Ross or JE pistons that probebly will not be a problem. For us Speed Pro guys count on using what you saved on pistons in adding weight to your crank.