I understand that the 383 is the "B' block and the 440 is the "RB' block. My question is will the exhaust that is in place from my 383 bolt right up to the 440 or am I going to have yet one more fight with this car?

 

technically, yes they had different pipes from the factory. The 440 is wider a little bit and the block is taller. However, I can remember bolting 440's in place of 383's with a little tweaking of the pipes. All this applies only if you use the same exhaust manifolds on the 440 as the 383.

 

but i wouldnt use the stock exhaust for a 383 on a 440
they were tailered to different motors

 

I have the hi perfromance exhaust manifolds with custom 2 1/2" pipe all the way out the back through flowmasters. Think that would work?

 

that should work
why do you want the stock exhaust manifolds though?

 

As opposed to headers? My experience with headers is that they constantly leak. The exhaust manifolds are very beefy and not prone to warping or leaking.

 

the exhaust manifolds should be fine
do you know what your compression in the engine will be yet?
with the exhaust manifolds, dont go too high with compression
since they cause some restriction, more heat will be kept in the block. That could cause some pinging issues

 

Thanks for that heads up man! If it stays too hot or gets too pingy, then headers it will be!

 

I freakin loathe headers. I've NEVER had a set I liked. If the original style Max Wedge exhaust manifolds won't work in my 67, I guess I'll have to go that route, but man, I am hoping I don't have to.

 

why don't ya like em?

 

They've burned up expensive wires, warped, were too low, or my current least favorite: the front suspension is between the pipes, so they are not removeable without taking apart my suspension.