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Well I finally got around to pulling the motor out of the old truck for some freshening up. It is a 440 with heads that have been worked over but I'm not sure what cam is in it now. I don't plan on doing a lot with it, just cleaning and a little dress up but was wondering if anyone has tried the whiplash cam from Hughes engines and if so how did you like it for a street build? Also while I was pulling everything apart I noticed the exhaust ports have a ton of carbon build up and was wondering if this could cause a bog feeling just off idle.
I sent the heads off to get cleaned up a little and they are going to put in larger valves and hardened seats too. They are also going to match port the intake. I have the cam in and the serpentine belt pulleys are looking nice. I will post some pics when I can get in front of the computer for a few minutes.
Finally got the heads back and had enough time to get them put on. I think it is about ready to get thrown back in the truck. I am still looking for a few parts to finish this thing but they may have to wait, I'm running a little short on and am getting impatient. Here are a few pics of the motor back together
Well, I got it in and just need to get the radiator and trans cooler hooked up then it will be time to break in the cam and start planning the next step. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, I am always looking at what else I can do.
I'm still making progress just a little slower now with Christmas coming up and it being so cold in the garage. I had a hard time making the headders fit, they were hitting the driver side frame. The old ones were really close but the new ones would not fit at all. I ended up cutting half an inch out of the passengers side motor mount and cutting the slot half an inch longer on the drivers side. I also made an aluminum spacer that I will put under the drivers side mount. I hope this works. All that I have left to do is put the radiator back in and mount and wire the electric fan. I will get some more pictures up when I get a little more time.
Hit a little snag with the electric fan. The one I ordered was a single fan that put out 2500 cfm but was about 4" thick, that was about 1.25" too thick. I just ordered a new double fan set up that has about the same out put and is only about 2.5" thick but at three times the cost of the first one.
It’s been a while since I posted any updates but here it goes.
After I got the engine all finished and put in the truck I broke in the cam and saw water coming out the exhaust. While trying to find the cause, changing head gaskets and having the heads checked at a different machine shop, I ended up hydro locking a cylinder and bending a rod so I had to start all over. I had the heads checked a 3rd time by another shop and they said the intake runner was cracked probably from over grinding when it was ported. The guy that did the porting just worked out of his garage so there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. I ended up buying a set of closed chamber iron heads that were CNC ported with 2.14/1.81 valves and decked a little to get me to 9.5-1 compression. I did end up using the whiplash cam from Hughes engine and this thing is a beast now. I just lowered the back end 2” and am getting the new differential ready to drop in this spring. I’m thinking of lowering it a little more but I’m not sure on that yet. Right now I’m just going to enjoy it while I do a few little things.
Man, that is a cool truck. Good sleeper lol I wouldn't guess a 440 was in it. I had a 440 Ramcharger, same year. Thing was old and tired and still pulled like an unreal beast. Soooo much torque.
Thanks, it goes pretty good right now. It pulls really hard at a roll but from the line it just makes tire smoke. Next up are a few things with the suspension.
Thanks, it goes pretty good right now. It pulls really hard at a roll but from the line it just makes tire smoke. Next up are a few things with the suspension.
the 440 in my ramcharger made smoke, too, just not from the tires.
06-27-2015, 10:49 AM
and am getting impatient. Here are a few pics of the motor back together
