Terpodion

I'm trying to help out a friend. I have his 440 engine and 727 trans in my back yard. Only 30k miles, never modified or raced. They are stored well, out of the elements - a 1970 Winnebago is housing them. Did I forget that part? Yes, they are the drive train of the Winnebago. He had no place to store this behemoth so I let him park it there four years ago. Now one of his other friends is offering to buy the engine and the RV's AC generator for $750. Knowing what I know about muscle cars, I think the engine alone is worth quite a bit more than that. After a search of eBay and a few other sites, all I can find for comparison are rebuilt engines which go for as much as $10K.

Now, I have to think that a low mileage, all original engine could be very desirable to someone restoring a 'Cuda, Challenger, Charger, etc. to original condition that has a trashed engine. The numbers won't match but it will be original in all other respects. I don't want my friend to get ripped off and I want him to have enough money to get this rotting hulk out of my back yard. Quite frankly, as a long time muscle car enthusiast, I would much rather see these parts go into a vintage car than the mud-bogger pickup of the guy who is offering $750.00

I'm considering putting it on eBay as:
"1970 Mopar, 440 engine and trans. 30,000 miles. Engine runs great, trans shifts perfectly. Comes with free Winnebago. Buyer takes all."

If absolutely necessary, I can assemble a crew and pull the engine and trans. That however, is not a task I look forward to.

Any advice on this is greatly appreciated. BTW, the location is central New Jersey where neighbors do not long tolerate decomposing RVs in back yards.

Clark

TVLynn

Better check the trans, Some motor homes use a Loadflight which is a different version
of the 727. If you go that way ? It can be difficult to get rid of the rest of the shell

Rumblefish318

$500

moparted

or less

TVLynn

I inherited a 77 Southwind 440/auto-loadflight when my Dad passed. I would have liked to keep the motor but I had no place to store it or work on it. I tried to sell it for $750 NO takers. Rather than pay more storage on it I gave it to the storage yard

Kern Dog

Here is the problem:
That engine and transmission may seem like a gem to some, but Motorhomes used some specific stuff that is of no use to a traditional car or truck guy. Some if not all MH 440s had a very low compression ratio, often 7.0 to 7.5 to 1. The only way to raise compression to a reasonable number is to tear it down and install different pistons. The MH engines also often had different water pump housings and exhaust manifolds that do not fit cars or trucks. The oil pans are different. The alternator and power steering brackets are different. About the only thing of that 440 that would work in a car is the engine block itself.
The trans? Uhh, someone mentioned "Loadflite". This is a term used for the 727s used in the trucks and vans. Traditional Loadflites still have standard slip yoke tailshafts. Many if not most MH transmissions have a bolt-on flange. It is the bolt-on flanges that make these transmissions useless in any 66 or later Mopar.
Sad, I know. Last year I scrapped 2 Class C Motor homes... the types with the VAN front end. One had a regular transmission, the other had a flange type. Both had 360 2 barrel mills. I scrapped the flanged trans for $20.
If the MH has aluminum siding, trim and window frames, some recyclers may want it.

Terpodion

Well the motor and trans have been sold - $800. A very industrious guy with a '63 (I forget which model, not a Fury or Belvedere) has bought it to swap out his 383. He is tearing it out of the Winnebago as I type.

It turns out that the motor is a 413. I'd never even heard of a 413 but, as I said, I'm far from an expert in mopar engines. He plans to do some head work and swap in a cam that is ground for moving a car around - as opposed to the present one which we believe is ground for torque and moving behemoth motor homes around.

He has removed the entire front of the motorhome. I was a bit surprised by the sheer size of the engine - tall, from the oil pan to the carb. It really looks like a truck engine.

Now the conjecture is about the rear end of the Winnebago. A Dana rear? The owner has been tearing off any piece of metal with scrap value - there is quite a bit of aluminum there. I'm just afraid that he will pull the rear axle and... well, you can imagine what kind of immobile, rotting hulk I'll be left with. And this is a real consideration. He (the owner) is not in the best of health. He plans to completely disassemble the beast and tote it, piece by piece, to the scrap yard. Personally I don't think he is up to it.

Kern Dog

I've scrapped cars, trucks and now 2 motor homes. When I get ready to scrap something, I make 3 piles.
1) Steel and iron to be scrapped.
2) Aluminum, copper and wiring
3) Trash with no recycle value.
A motorhome will likely have a bunch of foam, fabric, wood, glass and plastic to throw out. Most that I have seen have at least a Dana 60. The 2 I did last year had Dana 70 axles which are not desireable for use in any car.

Terpodion

Well it is gone - engine and trans. The guy who bought it has it in the back of his pickup and is toting it merrily home. I talked to him about what he is going to do with it. He is going to pull it all apart - inspect everything, put in a new cam, head work and a tri-power setup. The car is a '66 Coronet which now has a 273.

As far as the rear of the Winnebago; Dana or not, it is going to stay with the vehicle - at least until it reaches the boneyard. The missus and I have made it clear that it is not to be made fully immobilized. It was ugly before. Now, with the front removed, ugly doesn't even begin to describe it. I talked to a couple local salvage yards. None have trucks big enough. They referred to to a towing operator. He said as long as it has all its wheels and won't fall apart structurally, he'll tow it for a couple hundred bucks. I'm going to check the rear axle anyway - just to make it a little more appealing to the scrapyards.

As a final thought:
I had to move it about 15' as it was blocking the front of my garage. After a bit of head scratching, I tied a couple tires to the front of my Dodge 2500 van and pushed it. No sweat. The van has that V-6 that is 3/4's of a 318. Mopar power!

Kern Dog

Tearing apart a motor home is funny. You look like a tweeker dirtbag with the stuff all torn up and spread around.
Years ago I was driving home from work and spotted this scroungy looking hippie dude driving in the slow lane of the freeway. He was driving this motor home that looked like it was attacked with a giant can opener. The entire roof was ripped off leaving jagged aluminum siding around the "top". Insulation was blowing out, the siding was flapping around in the wind... The driver had goggles since the monstrosity had no windshield. Funny as hell. I wish I had a camera.