Hi,
I just came across a 78 440 and tranny out of a motorhome as well as a 71 440 out of a boat.. obviously the boat engine is set up a little different...i was wondering if i pulled all the stuff off of front of boat motor if i could put a water pump and all that on it and put it in my car....???? would it be better to use the 78 block and put the 71 heads on that??? Also the 727 off the 78 the tailshaft looks really short, could i maybe buy a longer tailshaft and housing to fit it in my plymouth or should i just buy a different one? im 26 and this would be the second motor i have built (other was a 360)- i know nothing about the boat motors so was wondering if i could even use it.... any help would be great i appreciate it


eddy

 

I'm sure either one would be fine as long as they pass a close inspection by a competant machinist. BTW, the 78 block have been shown to be just near as strong with at least as thick of cylinder walls as the older blocks. This has been proven by various machinists with sonic testing devices.
Also, some boat engines are designed to spin backwards! I am not sure of all the changes made to make them spin backwards but the camshaft would be one for sure. Usually, the backwards spinning motor would be paired with a frontwards spinning motor. Together the props would kind of counter balance each other. Like I said, I would have the machinist look at each of the blocks to get a determination of which is better. you could put a longer tail shaft on that tranny but you would need the appropriate outputshaft also. I am surprised that a short tailshaft trans would be found in a motor-home. Either set of heads would be good but again, I would have them checked for cracks because each of the pair were used in a "high stress" enviroment. Boat motors are usually highly stressed and so are motor home engines. THen again it depends on the operater of the equipment. SO, inspection is the best bet.