400 vs. 440 into A Body
 

Hi All,

I have an oppourtunity to get a 78' 400 motor for real cheap $200. This is a running motor out of a NewPort I believe. I wanted to ask the question how much easier is it to put a 400 into an A body VS. a 440? Also what machining is involved? I have a 440 steel crank which I need to grind anyways, and put it into the 400? Other than that I was going to use the factory rods out of the 400 and just replace the pistons, and heads to get my compression up to 9.5-10:1. I'm looking to make 450HP with the build but if it will cost a lot more to do the 400 I'll just stay with the 440. Your thoughts??

Joe

Alot easier to fit it in there. Turn down the mains on the 440 crank to the 400 mains size. People do it all the time. 451 stroker.

That was my plan till someone broke into my garage and stole a bunch of stuff...including a complete 400, 440, 2 318s including most of the parts for the 318device from my Demon. Once we get caught back up from buying this place I'm going to start looking for replacements for the parts and tools that were stolen.

Good luck...and post pix of the build.

j

I am very sorry for your loss, That is terrible. If this is recent I would start with the local classifieds, scrap yards, etc. That kind of stuff is noticable. Someone had to see something.


Joe

This running engine is an opportunity you can't pass up, think about your options later. Snap, snap, snap it up!

Thats what I was thinking, the guy said the engine was low milage and runs awesome, all I have to do for him is replace one inner bearing on his 2001 Tahoe which is a sealed unit(hub) that I got from NAPA for cost at $145. I figured for that price and a little of my labor even if I don't go stroker I'll have the option at least.

Any idea what the difference in weight would be? I'm hearing 45Lbs. With some ally heads and intake I guess it all adds up.
And a little extra meat around the mains wouldn't go astray either.

Joe

Besides turning down the mains to fit, what would be the better choice for clearance, have the counterweights cut or make space in the block by die grinding? I hear that the lighter the rotating assembly the better so maybe cutting the crank would be the better of the two? Your thoughts?


Joe

A good read. This is from my Mopar club's website.

http://www.houstonmopars.org/stroker.html

Joe -

Hate to sound like an old fart here, but the way I look at it, if you have a choice of 2 engines and x amount of dollars to spend, which will give you the most performance in the real world (most bang for the buck in both dollars and time)?

If you're planing on building a "winning" race car, then every last HP, RPM and ounce of weight can matter. If you're building a street car, maybe not so much.

The questions your asking are good ones for a race car, but maybe not so important for a street car, except maybe for bragging rights.

Since you have a chance of getting a running motor, if you're on a budget, like most of us, then grab it, unless you have your heart set on something else.

Archer

So I completed the bearing/hub change on the Tahoe and now I have one more option to throw into the mix. If I was to go stroker with the 400 and use the 440 steel crank cut down, would the factory rods with upgraded ARP bolts be sufficient? Running with EB 84 cc alloy heads that is. I may us the 452's for a start but would like the option to upgrade to the alloys later without any issues with the bottom end. I'm looking at KB215's .040 over pistons with this combo. Thanks all.

Joe

Depends on what factory rods. Alot of people hate them but I run the six-pack rods in mine and there is no way they will break. My new 440 will run the h-beam Eagle rods. They will spin up faster with the less weight.

Thanks for your input Archer,

The more I look into the 400 stroker Vs. 440 Bored and redone, I think in the end I will be paying more to get the 400 to where the 440 is already at. However, I now have the option and will do my due diligence in researching both options thoroughly before deciding. I definitely am not going for the bragging rights, the option to get a running motor for $150 and a little of my time was the original thought. There is also an article i've read which gave me the impression that I could do the 400 and be within $200 of doing the 440(I'm doubting that).

There seems to be two schools of thought on whether or not the 400 is easier to put into an A body. Some say its the same, others say the 1/2" difference in deck height will make header fitment easier. I will probably go with the Tri-Y headers by Engine Swaps Simplified regardless of which engine I use. Thanks again for your thoughts. All appreciated.

Joe