Which 440 best to use?

[rickster1959]

I have found two 440s out of motorhomes near me 1 is out of a 1974 and other is 1978. Is one of these motors better or are they the same. Both are low miles and I can get either for 450 dollars complete with Trans and all brackets. Both will run and I can hear run before purchase. Thanks Rick

 

[Bruzilla]

They should be the same block unless they've been changed out over the years. 3698330-X should be the casting number on the blacks, and the heads should be 902 on the 74 and 452 on the 78, but the specs are the same.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I noticed a feature on my 77 block that isn't on the older engines. The 77 block has huge bore chamfers and that adds to the overall chamber volume, so if you are looking to get reasonable compression you will have to work a bit harder. I'm running 915 heads with a steel shim gasket and get 10.1:1 (-.015" KB pistons with large valve reliefs). Dead flat I'd gain about 5cc's then loose some for minimal valve reliefs.