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Finally Found the 440 Block of my Dream!

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  threetwos 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
After 2 years of searching almost all the junk yards around I finally found the 400 block I was looking for. Do not become surprized, mopar parts are toooooo rare here in Iran. 318s and 6cyls are everywhere but big blocks and in particular 400 is very rare. It is a 74 block with standard bore size that had a 2barrel carb from stock so it didn;t experience extreme stress in its previous life (let me warm my heart at least). It seems to be a clean item but the bad news is that one of the rods was brocken and damaged the very lower edge of two cylinders. I showed the block to two expert mechanics and both confirmed that it cant be a problem even if stroker engine is to be made. Another bad news is that there is no sonic test facilities around and I am unable to measure the wall thickness but I wana trust it becasue I have read many articles saying that 400block is the strongest block of all Mopar big blocks ever. Below are some pictures with explanations:


Lower deck of the block

Cranck retainer number 2

Crank retainer number 3

Block casting number

Block date code

Tranny's casting number. On the rectangular plate it reads PP833 3388 and the letters on the right side are not very clear but I guessed 7G235273 and 00 14 below it!

Tranny's tail casting number

Tranny's other side casting number. Can anybody give me some information about this tranny? What is the model year, gear ratios and etc? It was on the car when I purchased it but the car was originally equipped with a 727 and the previous owner exchanged it with this 4 speed and so I know nothing about its history

The damaged edges of the two upper cylinders. Any comments on this?

Someone tells me what this rod that goes to the cam is used for.

I am looking forward your useful replies ASAP.

Pouria
 
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#2 ·
Fixed your tags so the pictures would show. In the future put the url inside the [ img ] [ / img ] tag with no spaces and the picture will show here instead of just a link
 
#9 · (Edited)
3388 is the build date of the transmission
Thank you. And what would the date be by this code? How toconvert it?

Mirada, Magnafluxing is a very good suggestion, thanks for that. I'll try to find a Magnafluxing shop around, if available anyway. What does "Chamfer" mean?! Sorry I am not native and I couldn't find this word in dic:(
 
#10 ·
congrats on the find. the first thing i would do is have the block cleaned and as mentioned magnaflux for cracks.

keep the main and rod bearings before you have it cleaned and checked, you might have to mock that #1 & #3 cylinder back up with the crank, rods and pistons to see if the piston travel will be effected by those places at the bottom of the cylinders.

that rod in the photo is for the fuel pump, just on the outside of the block there is a machine plug you take out and that rod comes out through that hole.
 
#11 ·
Chamfer or deburring is smoothing out the rough areas. Like the casting flash on the block. But in your case the damaged area needs some minor filing with a file, sand paper, dremel tool, or a die grinder. You just want to smooth and knock down the high spots as a rough damaged casting will be the first location a crack starts. And we dont want a crack in the cylinder bores, as you cant compress liquid (antifreeze). Trust me 8,000 RPMs and antifreeze doesnt make the connecting rods happy!! LOL
 
#13 ·
Get the block professionaly cleaned either with solvent based or oven baked type of cleaning. Then have the block inspected for cylinder wall taper, deck height of each bank in proportion to each other. If you are going to use main studs on the main caps the block MUST be lined honed. If you dont the oil clearance to the mains will be off, I dont care what anyone else says about this. Get it honed and checked for proper oil clearance with your stroker kit's forged crankshaft which I assume will be a 4.25 stroke or 4.15 stroke depending on how the cylinders clean up and if you want internal/external oiling and what you want to do with the engine. The shorter the piston the lower service life it will have, the longer the rods the more the piston speed will increase also reducing service life. If you want a max torque 'plant' I would seriously think about a 474 kit with 6.535 rods 1.220+ piston height, zero deck cut, .030 overbore &hone with the hone a fine finish for moly rings, dial in the deck height with gaskets and a piston to head clearance of .040 with closed chamber heads for squish&quench to reduce the chance for detonation with lower octane fuel as I beleive you stated the max octane you can get is 89? with 9:5 to 1 Comp. ratio and alloy heads the thing will most likely run great with 89 octane. Hope this helps,,but try and find a good auto machinist as he will be a key ally in your project. Good Luck,,,,Eddie
 
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