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440 stroker opinions.

doublekrossd

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It had probably been discussed (at least once) but I'm looking to build a 440 based stroker for my 66 belvedere. I plan on using a good seasoned block, I've got indy little ez heads, indy single plane intake and an open canvas from there out. The car sports full trim and interior, is street driven for cruises (not a daily driver) so a little more radical is just fine with me.
Talking with my builder, I kinda have an idea of building a 540ish 10.5-11:1 compression motor with a red line around 6500. I know with that many inches is surely at the outer limits for a stock block but with the lower compression and lower red line maybe that'll be a bit safer?
I'm looking for 700+horsepower at the crank, engine builder recommends building for road gas because of driving in cruises.

What do you guys think? Am I too big on inches, no replacement for displacement right? Will I be able to get that power out of a combo like that? If not, what would?
 
It seems that it takes a lot of stuff to make a 4.5" arm work. Why not a 4.25" which seems pretty common these days? I'd think you would need an awfully good block to handle 4.5" stroke.
 
I do have a really good, per sonic checking, 66 block. I'm just trying to get the largest possible displacement to maybe ease the need for higher compression and or rpm's. Maybe I'm not thinking right? And yep, that 4.5"crank swinging around is a bit scary, that's why I'm asking for opinions.
 
Why 700 horsepower for a street driven cruiser?

By-the-by, 700 (normally aspirated) horsepower is possible @ 6,100 rpm with 451 cubic inches on 91 octane pump gas with Edelbrock RPM heads and the Indy Single plane intake. So the Indy head/Indy intake 540 should do it.
 
Decide if you need pump gas or if you are willing to pay for race fuel. If you are willing to go race fuel then compression is the key. My 511 low deck makes 740 + on 110 with a 13.7-1 CR.
Just to give you an idea of what CR and flow can do, my 511 started out with 11.3-1. It made 654 HP like that. I was already burning race fuel, so my builder suggested taking full advantage of it. Because of a failure I caught before it got to a catostrophic stage, I had a freshen done. I added a dome piston to the mix which bumped my CR up, a bit more porting on my heads, a 2" header and a 1" spacer is all I changed. Still using the same cam (solid flat, not even a roller) I've added 90 + HP and 50 Foot pounds to my build. And that's not pushing it to its max. I know it would pull well over 750 with a few more changes by why squeeze everything out of it? Back it down a bit and enjoy longer I figure.
You could make 700 with a 500 stroker with the right heads and CR. I too don't think you need that many cubes to achieve what you want.
 
It had probably been discussed (at least once) but I'm looking to build a 440 based stroker for my 66 belvedere. I plan on using a good seasoned block, I've got indy little ez heads, indy single plane intake and an open canvas from there out. The car sports full trim and interior, is street driven for cruises (not a daily driver) so a little more radical is just fine with me.
Talking with my builder, I kinda have an idea of building a 540ish 10.5-11:1 compression motor with a red line around 6500. I know with that many inches is surely at the outer limits for a stock block but with the lower compression and lower red line maybe that'll be a bit safer?
I'm looking for 700+horsepower at the crank, engine builder recommends building for road gas because of driving in cruises.

What do you guys think? Am I too big on inches, no replacement for displacement right? Will I be able to get that power out of a combo like that? If not, what would?


that's alot for the street but ok..just make sure a block girdle is used to strengthen the lower end...and a good set of rockers for the upper
 
How ya gonna hook up all that horsepower with the smallish rear fender well in the 66? You are pretty limited to tire size in those unless you go with at least installing mini tubs.
 
Why 700 on the street? Because there are two 65 impalas that are both pouring out over 600 and I think it's time for a mopar guy to let them know how a motor runs.

Wookie- that is exactly why I'm asking this question. Do you think the higher compression ratio may hurt longevity? I don't mind having to buy race fuel, as long as i can plan for it.

Terzmo- I'm planning on running cross bolted mains and a girdle. Both may be redundant bit i figured it should help to keep everything in line. I've got harland sharps now but may have to change then anyways. Any recommendations?

Cranky-not completely sure yet. 275/60-15's are on the way but if needed, I'll accommodate.
 
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I've always been told, the hotter the spark, the shorter the fuse. I think the HP levels as they get higher reflect directly towards its life span. Guess how many miles you gonna put on it yearly? Mine basically only sees track miles now. Very few street miles.
Don't forget that it's not just HP. It's the combo. Right converter. A chassis that allows the power to go to the pavement.
I have 740 + HP but I also have the right converter, suspension and slicks to make it hook.
That much HP is fun, but make sure the car and your wallet will take it.
 
My cruises generally are not very far, usually only about 20 miles round trip. The car is basically an "ice cream getter" for around town, but i do want reliability and longevity. That's why i was thinking go big and don't push it as hard. As for the rest of the drive line, the frames have been tied, upgraded motor mounts and torque arms, planning on a new trans, it's only an 8 3/4 but at least it's a 489 case and I'll have either 3.91 or 4.10 gears for it, all sitting on new super stock springs.

It's a running/driving project that is gonna be right powerful when I'm done.

Thanks for all your input!
 
I broke one axle and twisted 2 others in my 8 3/4 before I went to a Dana. 700 HP to an 8 3/4 is pushing the limits for sure.
If your gonna run compression and good heads I don't think cubes are as important. Trust IQ52 and his opinions. $ is always best put into the cylinder heads to make power. All his threads have a lot of knowledge in them.
Check my build here.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopar...2-The-71-Charger-500-becomes-a-SuperBee-clone!

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?107621-Low-deck-Giant
 
You are looking to exceed the ability of the block IMO. If you want a 540, build the strongest main webbed block - the 400. Because your failure will be there. Cross bolting the mains or running a girdle is a lot of custom fitting that does nothing for the problem that is actually above the main cap parting lines. So you are building a time bomb, with an unknown fuse timing. You can minimize that by running aluminum caps to help the block survive at the 700+ level. But if you want to run the RB, I'd go with the 505" deal. Use decent heads with enough cam and it will make the 600 mark and live for a long service life. Plus you can keep the internal pickup. Exceed that by much, and you will have longevity problems without a better block.
 
Do you know how fast you want to go ? And will it be mostly street miles ? I can tell you what I did with my 3700 lb 63 Sport Fury. I wanted to hit high 10's on pump gas through the full exh just as I drive it. But I only race once or twice a year right now. And I wanted to be able to pull in any gas station and get gas. So I built a 440/493 using the 440Source 4.15 crank and I use the standard Indy EZ heads and D-dish pistons to get 10.6 comp with .045 quench. I use a custom solid flat tappet to keep my cyl pressure below 190. I run the Indy dual plane intake with a basic Holley 850 DP and the eng makes around 600 flywheel hp just as I drive it through the pipes on pump. The car has run 10.70's so I am happy as I met my goal and have never uncapped it or had race gas in it. You dont need 700 hp to run 10's at my weight of just over 3700 lbs if you want to tap the 10's. And I only use SS springs and 30 x 9 radial slicks and the car hooks fine. Ron
 
How fast? I guess I'm not really sure as its a street car. Off the top of my head I'd say mid to low 10's but I'm pretty certain I won't see much track time.

It seems I'll be able to reach my goals with less cubes and a bit more compression, I'm hoping that the little ez heads i have will be enough. I was a bit concerned that the 295cc intake runners wouldn't flow quite high enough to feed the 540+inches.
 
My EZ heads have been cleaned up but no big porting and they flowed 329 @ .600 on the intakes. If you want to run pump gas I would watch how much compression you run. Many engines make good power in the 10.0 to 11.0 comp range and run on pump. I am at 10.6 and run fine on 92 pump which my area has. I did not want over 11.0 because I wanted to be able to get gas at any station I pull into. If you run alot of comp and have to run race gas you wont find it at most gas stations. Ron
 
Yeah I'm pretty aware of the race gas/ compression thing. There's quite a few places around me with 110 at the pump. I could always keep a barrel in the shed too I was thinking...
 
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