Hey Everyone,

I am new to this forum and was hoping someone could give me some sound advice on a particular situation. My brother has a 1969 Roadrunner he purchased some years ago with a really decent body, nice interior, etc. Bottom line...fun driver but won't win any shows! Here's the kicker....he was so excited about the car when he purchased it, the fact it has a 400 cid engine (believed to be from a '76 Dodge truck) didn't bother him at the time....bad choice I think.

Well, I'm looking to acquire the car from him and I would really like to get a 383 back in the car as this is what it originally was.

If I don't want to spend a lot for a crate motor or a complete rebuild of a 383, is are there any good cars and years out there to look for if I'm considering a donor car that already has a good solid running 383 in it? I would be willing to do the $1,500 - $2,000 range if the engine is directly "swap-able". Also, I would like to throw the 400 back into the donor car and maybe sell it to get some money back.

I guess what I'm looking for is a direct match coming from an old four door or something that I can directly install into the Roadrunner with minimal altercations. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

 

flaten -

Welcome aboard.

I wouldn't discard the 400 too quickly. While usually billed as a "smog" motor, with the right work it can be quite potent. For pure performance, your biggest problem with that year may be the compression ratio (or it can work in your favor, depending on how you look at it). Still, do a few searches, you might be surprised. Only issue was that I don't think the 400 was offered in 1969, if you're looking for that kind of "correctness".

Regarding the "donor" engine. Kinda depends on what was done to the 383 amd what you want to do with the car.

If you really wanted to do swap, then I'd go for a 440. Hard to argue with displacement.

Archer

 

Thanks. I agree with all the points you made. The current 400 is very punchy with some mild cam work. The main thing I am looking for is the future "sell-ability" of the car. I think without a 383 or 440, it really narrows the pool of buyers. Also, I just find that with a Roadrunner, it's almost embarrassing to explain it has a 400 instead of the 383 or 440 to people that are interested in the car.

I guess the only reason I'm leaning more towards the 383 is because that is what the original car was but I'm not opposed to a 440.

So, with that said...any ideas on finding a decently priced 440? Any good years or cars to look for that had the 440 as an option? Thanks again.

 

In my opinion, unless you get a proper "date coded" 383 or maybe a warranty block, the difference in value won't be all that great. A 400, with the proper intake, carb, valve covers, etc, can be made to look almost exactly like a 383 so if this were mine, I'd SERIOUSLY consider doing whatever you want or need to do with the 400 and run with it.