Horse power EST???

[Longknife]

Can anyone take a stab at the HP this build should put out?" THANKS!!!!,,,Ed

1977 440 new rings and bearings. Heads have been port matched and bowls blended, milled .030 and had a valve job and new seals. Hughes Whiplash cam, lifters & matching valve springs..518/.518 lift 232/245 duration @.050 Melling HVHP oil pump. Edelbrock CH26 dual quad intake. Two 600cfm carbs.

 

[33 IMP]

What pistons? Still got 7.5 to 1?

 

[Longknife]

Assuming stock pistons....Builder didnt say.

 

[33 IMP]

No offense, but if it still has those no-compression stock pistons in it, i would guess a lot less than you are hoping. You have a lot more chance at making power at ten to one, than seven and a half. ( Tho IQ52 has made serious power with lo comp 440s)
My guess is maybe an honest 400 at the crank, which is probably a 100 more than a stock lo-po lo-comp 77 440.

 

[Longknife]

IQ52????

 

[440Coronet500]

You really need to know the compression ratio, etc for proper cam selection. 440'

 

[33 IMP]

IQ52 is Jim LaRoy (spelling) of LaRoy engines. He and his dad and his son have been building mopars for years. Jim is retired now, but his stuff is still on the a-bodies site. His low compression 400 and 440 build threads are legendary. A search over there should turn them up. He is a member here too, but i think his build threads are on a-bodies.
There is a you tube video of one of his 500" wedges making almost 700 WHEEL hp at around 7500rpm.

 

[PRHeads]

I’m thinking “400-ish”

Wasn’t there an EM episode recently with an RV 440 that got a cam & headers?

I did a 446, 9.7cr, Comp 280H, 346’s with 5 min bowl blend, 6bbl, headers.........499tq/424hp.

 

[Paul Secoy]

I’m thinking “400-ish”

Wasn’t there an EM episode recently with an RV 440 that got a cam & headers?

I did a 446, 9.7cr, Comp 280H, 346’s with 5 min bowl blend, 6bbl, headers.........499tq/424hp.

The Engine Masters one had a mild cam, Performer intake, 750 carb, and long tube headers. It made 346 HP I believe.

 

[66Satellite47]

My guess would be maybe 350-375, maybe up to 400. Nice size cam, interesting intake for a low CR motor, depends on RPM used. Good bowl porting helps utilize the cam. Which head casting number?

 

[Longknife]

The short block is stock 32,000 mile that has been cleaned ball honed with new moly rings and new bearings. It also has a new timing chain and oil pump. The heads are 452 castings that have been milled .030 and had some port work. They also have had a valve job and new valve seals. The cam is designed for the low compression engines. It’s a Hughes, and has the matching valve springs. It also has headers,,,,,

 

[Longknife]

Original description,,,,1977 440 new rings and bearings. Heads have been port matched and bowls blended, milled .030 and had a valve job and new seals. Hughes Whiplash cam, lifters & matching valve springs..518/.518 lift 232/245 duration @.050 Melling HVHP oil pump. Edelbrock CH26 dual quad intake. Two 600cfm carbs.

 

[RemCharger]

I would lean towards the 425 area. Not sure how much the dual quad chokes it down or not.

 

[Longknife]

 

[PRHeads]

The Engine Masters one had a mild cam, Performer intake, 750 carb, and long tube headers. It made 346 HP I believe.

So, the OP has heads milled.030, fresh valve job, some bowl work and new rings.
Plus it has a manifold designed for a higher rpm powerband than the std performer.
I don’t know what the EM 440 used for a cam, but I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that the OP’s cam would make a bit more power than the 280H I put in the 446-6 referenced above.

I still think it should be pretty close to 400hp.

But...... there’s really only one way to know for sure.

 

[BSB67]

But...... there’s really only one way to know for sure.

The question is, as always, what is the real compression ratio, and how good are the heads really. We know it's low compression, but how low is uncertain. If the heads were indeed milled 0.030", that only gets you back to square one with a 0.040 or 0.050 head gasket.

I'm always a skeptic on the "redone" heads. When there is clear factual evidence/documentation from a known reputable head porting source as to what the heads are, and the actual $ spent on them, my presumption is that they are marginal. Generally speaking, people will not spend the amount of $ necessary to make old factory heads "good" when the aluminum aftermarket heads available today provide so much more performance-value.

I'll go 400 - 415 hp if the stuff is what the OP hopes it is. Otherwise 375 or less.

 

[66Satellite47]

Heads are the key on BB Mopar's combined with cam. Compression makes those work. A 452 head done by some one that knows what they are doing does well. A basic brush hone rebuild with a stock valve job and a bigger cam not a big power producer. I'd guess that intake combination would be hard to optimize. .030 cut on the heads should clean them. The head gasket thickness makes a big difference. .020 vs .039 is likely at least .3 CR.

 

[slepr1]

I'm a fan of Hughes cams. I have one in my 440, but not the Whiplash because I'm running with 10.5 CR and aluminum heads. My guess for your engine is around 400-425 hp. Only real way to find out is to put the engine on a dyno. I did my break-in, set-up and a few runs to see the HP and torque on a dyno. During the dyno tests they can determine if you have too much carb. I'm not a fan of the 452's. I spent far too much money on mine trying to get them to breath better. The Edelbrock heads are way cheaper. With aluminum heads and increased compression I got 485HP. If you do a dyno test through the rear wheels it'll be 25% less depending on your tranny.
Btw, HP is a great talking point but the torque is what's really important. If you plan on running your car at high speeds and want lots of pull then HP is important. Cruising, quick spirited runs at stop lights, off the line burn-outs and head yanking throttle response is torque.

 

[66Satellite47]

A basic 440 is going be to bad *** on the street, a "built" 440 makes it really hard to get the traction needed. I ported my own iron heads(906 & 915) with good results (600 HP I think). Todays aluminum heads are better OTB but still can use some work. Good heads do really help the toque all the way.

 

[Longknife]

Thanks for all the replies!