So my bro has contracted me to do some work to his 1972 Charger and i just need a little insight. It has the 318 currently and hes looking to dump something larger in to it. As of now we are looking at-

A stock Big Block 440 engine and 727 transmission currently still in the car and running for $1000 obo with decent miles on it


or

1966 dodge 383 motor
-.030 bore
-906 heads
-mild cam
-new rings and bearings 5,000 miles ago
-running in car still

Guy wants $1600 obo.

What all would it take to stuff the 440 in there? Mounting issues? Tranny/axle/drive shaft compatibility? Pro's/Con's? I would think the 440 is the way to go, but the 383 seems like it had a very astute and caring owner and for the most part is a direct swap with the 318, right? The 440 looks weathered but in good running order and comes with the 727 tranny. .

The Charger-

 

Well, the 383 is a shitty motor. No good. The 440bb is a great motor but without internals wont turn too much power, What you want is a 340 with a six pack. think old school duster. Or a 360 for power+reliability.

 

What are the issues with the 383? Why would you go with the 340?

 

well 340 has more power, higher revs, more reliable. My experience with the mopar 383 bad. I owned 2 of them in my old 2 door dart. Both threw rods at freeway speeds under normal conditions. The 340 i eventually replaced em with had no issues ever. Seems to me that the 383 is just poorly engineered. But there are people that swear by em too. The one thing the entire Mopar community can agree on though is that the 340 runs like a raped ape.

 

The other thing to keep in mind, is are you up for the big block swap? Not to bad but not very fun.

 

nah my buddies dad builds mopar all day has 2 road runners 2 72 cudas used to have a GTX they sold it though and has a demon. in the cuda the pride car that he built for my buddy is a nice 440 6pack with aluminum heads and full exhaust and it not to much else i dont think runs low 13's and even did a wheel stand at the track before. the other cuda is a full drag car that i dont know to much about. i say 440

 

when you swap a dodge motor out, take it out the bottom of the car, pull the suspension and "K" member out,. it makes it really easy. i wouldnt worry about the 383 blowing up, its just how it may have been treated or built befroe he owned it. id say 440 myself as well, might as well go big. parts are o.k to get, and the tourqe from one of those is mind boggling. have you saying snap!! all the way home. lol. those cars came with the big block, so you can buy mounts, nothing to fab really. btw my dad would so buy your car!!! he used to have one, although it was a little new i believe. he had the police interceptor 360, top speed was clocked by the police at 172 mph!!!

 

Ok, strictly based on the engines shown for sale, what would you go with? Taking in to consideration that I have never ****ed with Mopar but plenty of old schools. I dont have many of the many details like drive train compatibility for the 440 with the axle in there already, will i have to have anything custom made? Will the 383 bolt up to the 318 tranny? I looked on a few mopar forums but it looks like everyone sticks with the earlier body style. This car is a B-body mopar, right? Anyone know of any sites i could check out, forums they know of?

 

Well whatever you choose from those two is BB so I say 440. It comes with the trans too? There are plenty of mopar forums out there, like moparforums.com Plenty of info.

 

I actually registered there last night. There is some info, but not the ***** im looking for. Basically if i get the 383, will i be able to just drop it in there and bolt up to the existing tranny?
Secondly, if i get the 400 will i have to source a new driveshaft or have it cut and rewelded to match the axle in there?

 

no the 383 and 440 share the same bell housing. so no matter what you need to get the driveshaft and mounts from a bb car, plus the tranny. they are readily available for the challanger.

 

the 318/340/360 are all the same bellhousing. the 360 with 340 heads is a good combo. high revs and good torque. you can actually get the 318 up to 400hp if you try with some good little machining tricks on the heads intake and block. aftermarket heads are very nice for the 318 in there now.

 

x2. Some of those trannys have interchangeable bell housings. You might be lucky and can source a BB bell housing for the current tranny.

 

Good to know. Shoot, you guys are more helpful than the dang mopar site.

Im tryin to avoid any internal work right now. Just looking for the most direct route to a complete and running vehicle with larger cubic inches

Basically if i go with anything other than larger than a 360, i need to get all accessories to accompany the motor/tranny? Should i just get an entire 383/440 vehicle and just strip it for necessary parts?

 

The 318 it has in it now . .

 

440 FTW! Put a six pack intake manifold on that baby and ROCK ON!

 

Ok . . . bro just cut a check. Gotta give it to him, doesnt really mess around. I got 1200 bones to put towards a motor/tranny. I need to get a hold of the guy with the 440. Emailed but he has yet to reply. I wish i bread to play with like this on my Z when i still had it. I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through him

 

i haqve had very goood luck with 360s---383s are touchy and have insignificant issues related to tuning and carb..but that could be related to marinizing them--i had twins ina chris craft once........i had excellent luck in my vans with 360--very strong engine.....

 

hopefully the 440 comes with some accessories mounted. you can always ebay the mounting stuff for the engine externals. they arent that expencive from transdapt. they even come in decent chrome. btw ive built 4 mopars do date!!!

 

440 for sure. That is what I would go with. But I will say this. Those 318's are some tough friggin' motors. Can take a lot...and keep on ticking. I wish I had the money to mess with my Firebird. Anyway...sweet ride man. I love Chargers.

 

only down side is my buddy with the 440-6 in the 72 'cuda gets like 8mph haha!!!!

 

yeah 8mph bisnatches

 

8mpg haha... my bad. typo's and me.... always twisting my words

 

The 440 is a go!! Went down to the farthest region of South San Jose today, about 1 hour smashin at 80mph the whole way, to check out the BB. Its quite a find. Granny owned and operated 1973 Imperial with an original 45k on the clock, car had not been reg'd since 92. Damn thing started right up, went in to gear with no issues and all fluids looked great. Someone got took, bad, and Granny was most likely the one. There is nothing wrong with the entire car. No rust, not wreckage . . .nothing wrong at all. Just dusty and old. So im going back within the week to pick it up. Kinda juiced. Just got to find a radiator. Hes giving me everything but the damn radiator. Oh well. Score.

 

Sounds real good man. Good score there. And good choice on picking the 440. Keep us updated. Old Mopar is the shiz.