440 rebuild

The last street 440 I built had KB quench domes fitted to .040" piston to head. All chamber depths were equalized and chambers were polished. Small 224/.450 cam. Measured 9.7-1. That is a touch too much compression for stock jetting/ distributor curve, 38 degrees total. Factory intake, carb, air cleaner, exhaust manifolds. This was using 93 octane when it's hot (+85 degrees).
Doug

By 256 cam you mean - 256/262 or 256/268?
Sounds like a very good torque.

who are you asking? Artis the comp cam 256 closes the intake about 54 degrees ABDC @.006 and would really help a really low 8:1 engine
however leaving a lot of horsepower on the table
The 256 I use has a lot more area, lot more duration at .200 lift than the comp 256someone else mentioned early on and I have a heavy vehicle, RV converter (high torque multiplication and low stall combo) and towing I have ported iron 915 closed chamber heads opened up to 80 cc and .035 piston to flat chamber face
It's all about combination working together

Dougs combo with 9.7 instead on 9 like I have- he goes to more duration

I'd have to review the thread to see where you are currently at BTW 262 0r 268 depends on exhaust
On heavy motorhome with stock manifolds I run 256-256 in lighter vehicle I can use more exhaust but good headers do not need as much as stock- however more extends your rpm range- all tradeoffs

Artis said:

Intake - Edelbrock CH4B
No marks on headers - are they aftermarket?
View attachment 598562

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These headers will stay.
Ive got CH4B factory intake. Does edlbrock performer will make a huge difference with stock 906 heads?

wyrmrider said:

and is this a heavy car?
build a high torque monster
if low compression a big cam with stock heads kills your low end and does not give you much more top end- needs headers and heads and low gears and loose converter
so the big question is how do you want to drive your ride?

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sorry, missed these questions - engine is for 69' charger. car mostly will be for weekends.
my goal is to build pump gas 440 engine, with 400-450hp, power brakes (vacuum) and good idle.
how much is low compression engine - < 9:1 ?

CH4B (as is the stock manifold) for what you want to do
Not a huge if any difference with performer and absolutely no need for performer RPM
na low compression is a 73-78 stock motor down in the 8:1 or even less range when you throw a thick gasket or rebuild with "destroked" pistons
True 9:1 is good for iron head and not to worry about pinging or getting a load of bad gas or having to run retarded- which makes heat- which makes more pinging which requires more retard and on and on
256-260 cam you're good I run a 256 with .305 lobe lift, little more ex duration, same or just a little less lift in my exactly 9:1 motor
I have ported 915 heads and suggest you use a multi angle valve job and hand blend at the bottom
I ve run larger intakes with 30 degree intake seats which work good on .500 lift builds
9.5 if you are dedicated to getting your advance curve right and running a 262 -265 Mopar cam
with the 270 + cams you loose the good idle and start thinking gears,converter etc
stetting up springs etc half inch lift is a lot easier
Those headers look fine- plenty long and not giant tubes
if you do have less than 9:1 the grinder will most likely advance it a little and you will not go with longer exhaust, then they can squeeze the lobe centers in a little and still not have a lot of overlap

Heads will be disassembled soon. After cleaning will see, how bad are they and what to do next.

Looked @Summit for 256/260 - there are only 256/262 ( @.050 213 int./220 exh.) or 256/268 (@.050 212 int./218 exh.).
Think 256/262 lunati will be fine for me.

Artis said:

Heads will be disassembled soon. After cleaning will see, how bad are they and what to do next.

Looked @Summit for 256/260 - there are only 256/262 ( @.050 213 int./220 exh.) or 256/268 (@.050 212 int./218 exh.).
Think 256/262 lunati will be fine for me.

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IDK which 256/268 you were looking at but the 256/262 Lunati Voodoo is a good choice and here"s why
Although the 256 duration on the intake and at .050 is the same as on the SB Chevy when you get to 200 the chevy is 125 and the Mopar is up to 130 and that's only half way up the ramp
The Mopar also has a bigger nose not the little pointy chevy nose
The lift could have gone higher on the mopar but not much gain on stock heads and it makes setting up the springs easier.
Use a break in oil with the break in additive built in- works better than DIY additives and use a good paste on the lobes and lifters IMHO works better than liquids
If it does turn out that your compression is different write back

It was so hard to find a time for 440, but when parts arrived I cant resist not to do something.

First, cleaned up heads whit glass beads.




Always change your freeze plugs. Before blasting, they looked in nice shape.


Why those numbers are hided?


And find some stuff in head's cooling, what is this?


So, next week heads are going to machine shop and will be checked for wearing - valves, valve seats, pressure, etc. From quick look - heads are looking in a good shape. Looks like they were done near time ago. There's no valve play in guides, heads arent milled and someone were installed double valve springs. On monday I will see, how good are they.

Block will be ready till next weekend. Pistons arrived, so machinist can start his job. Happy days. Thank you guys for your answers and suggestions.

After close lookup, exhaust/intake stem's, off course, are worn-off, but not critically. What's your experience with oversize stem valves? For both intake/exhaust it would be .372'+

We used to use OS stem rebuilder valves if you do knurl the ID almost all the way through then ream and hone
the knurl distributes oil for unleaded gas applications
spiral groved bornze inserts are better with stock valves
a major consideration is the finish on the valve stem on any valve
many are like round files
I od hone all valves and prefer hard chrome stems (not flash chrome which is for storage life and break in
what do you mean by worn off? stems can be regroud flat if that is the problem