What was the difference on the 440 VS 440 Magnum? I know I have a 440-RB in my 68 Coronet and my buddy said its a 440 Magnum and his brother said no its just a 440...is one better or stronger than the other?

 

in the late 60s chrysler made a mild 440 and a HIGH PERFORMANCE 440. generally the mild 440 was turquoise color. and HP was orange color. but i think there is two orange colors, dont know much about the orange color. might be one is hemi. my dad had a new 1967 chrysler 300 mild 440 had a holley carb, NOT a good carb. the O.E.M. holley is much different than the over counter holley. edit: i just checked my 67 coronet book it shows only one 440,,, 268 degree intake 284 degree exhaust. but i think in a chrysler body might have had a mild and a HP 440. i had a 1965 chrysler 300 L 264 degree by .430 lift cam. gave 30 more horse power then a new yorker 413. very street able 360 hp. pure stock 4200. lb would do 16.00 E.T 1/4 .

 

It has been a long time since I read up on the topic as I was looking at the difference at one point because I was going to put a 440 in my first 68 coronet which was a base model coronet 440 like yours (awesome car by the way 68 is the best year for the coronet). But if I can remember right I think the magnum was all forged on the bottom end. And had better flowing heads. As far as power ratings, it heavily depends on the year of your engine. 1971 or under and you've got a pretty stout 440. 72 up and your gonna be about 50 horsepower less than the older ones. Although even if you do have one 72 + it wont take much at all to wake it up. The torque that comes out of these motors is just unbelievable. My 68 R/T has a magnum out of a 68 police car. Aftermarket weiend intake, 750 holley double pumper, & headers (I dont know if it is all stock on the inside or not). 3.54 Dana, and the 4 speed is geared fairly low(not a granny gear, though). The guy I bought it from said the motor is stock aside from the bolt on stuff. And it will nearly pull the front wheels off the ground (probably would if I abused it enough. I baby it cause I dont want to tear it up). The 70 roadrunner I had, had a 440 out of a boat. I think it was date coded for 1975.. It had a set of 915 heads that had been lightly ported, dual carter 500 cfm carbs, mother thumper cam from comp, flat top pistons (it was at 10:1 compression), and it had headers as well. It was also a dana 3.54. But the 4 speed was a lot higher ratio than my 68. My 68 is turning about 3500 rpm at 75 mph where as this roadrunner was turning around 2300 if i remember right. And believe it or not with what little work was done on the 75 boat motor, it would still nearly pull the front wheels off the ground. It would break the tires loose going 45 mph with no problem.

Anyways long story short if you've got a a none magnum, or later model motor... And you were considering chunking it for a magnum. I'd keep it and just build it. It wont take much at all to wake it up and get it running even better than a stock magnum. Also 71 and under HP 440's are really pricey. For the extra money your gonna spend on one that needs rebuilt still... you could just put that money into the one you've already got and come out a lot better off. Paint it orange and get the right air cleaner throw a Magnum sticker on it and no one will ever know the difference lol.

Hope this helped you out.

Check out this link, it may help you out:
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/383.html

 

All the 440's of the same year are really identical. The High Performance 440 had a slightly larger cam, and the high rise exhaust manifolds. I think they also had a windage tray in the oil pan, that the regular 440s did not have. The myth of the better flowing heads probably came from the fact that when the better 906 heads were first installed in the HP engines, but eventually all 440's got them. I am not certain if the "HP" manifolds really add that much under 4500 or 5000 rpm either. They may have been a sales gimmick.


May be the biggest difference was the exterior paint


I think, this is overall good news. Knowing that there is nothing unique about an HP 440 means that you can get your "regular" 440 to perform similar to an HP unit without too much work. But, if I had an original HP engine, it would be cool, and I would like to keep it original, if possible, due to its rarity.

 

Back in the day the so called '67 heads were the ones to HAVE. But nowadays, you can get better heads and even port some of the "worser" ones and make up for it with pistons.

 

Yea its been a work in progress, The 440 I have in the car sounds awesome and strong.It is fast and I am very happy with it...I feel like I can still do a little work to it to get it just right but like I said its a work in progress.