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440 swap

S

Smurkster

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Hesperia, CA
I own a 1989 dodge ram im 22 i dont know nothing about mopar i bought a an RV that had the 440 for 300 bucks 50,000 miles i want to rebuild it to 500 or 600hp i stay in California fuck all smog laws here i want a real all American muscle engine that can breath I'm tired of hearing people say certain things don't fit especially if its a person who likes GM i rather ask A real mopar head my truck isnt meant to look pretty i need screaming American eagles.
 
1st thing. if your oil pan is front sump, you will need rear sump pan and pickup. there are several people that have used ones out here. vans auto sells new reproductions of pan and pickup and oil dipstick. then you will need mounts,2 or 4wd depending on your truck. brake booster may be a problem. might be too big to get valve cover off if needed. then the transmission case will need to be changed. while apart just go ahead and freshen it up. if your truck has a 904 in it now, driveshaft will have to be shortened. then the exhaust. headers or manifolds. now on to the wiring and fuel system. wiring should not be too hard. fuel pump in tank now. you will need to figure something different unless you run a fuel pressure regulator. 89 efi puts out approx 14 psi. good luck.
 
If you want 500-600 hp your going to need a 727 that has been built for that hp level. The RV440's have very low compression 7.8-8.0 CR, if your going to build a NA engine your going to have to increase compression with new pistons. The other option is add boost, Steve Dulcich built one on Engine Masters and it survived some pulls and was 500 hp
 
Im planning on sending the engine to a machine shop to get rid of the RV Specs but i wanna make sure my engine can take a beating since ima drive the truck for street at the momment i have a few routes i wanna take i hear a lot about the hemi heads conversion setup for the 440 by stage V Engineering im willing to upgrade the whole engine but i want it for street racing.
 
It depends which kind of rv it came out of. The class A rvs got a 440-3 motor which has different heads with cooling passages, peanut shaped spark plugs and a different water pump. If you're planning on building a race motor you will end up keeping just the block. The low compression is the main problem for these late model engines you have to completely rebuild them if you are looking for power.

I have one myself but plan on running it with a minor refresh, I'll keep the low compression and run 87 octane gas. Mine is going in a truck to be used as a material hauler.

The best thing to grab would have been the rv 727 trans they have beefier internals and shift firmer, great for what you are looking to do.
 
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RV 727 trans ussually have a short tail shaft and a bolt on driveshaft. The internals can be insterted into a proper year housing or the long tail shaft and housing can be installed.
Myself I would finds a trans to fit the application and build it for the task at hand.
 
Then i must be in luck the rv came with a 727 transmission i just need to find another one i was told that a while back ago i was trading paint and body work to get both the engine and a brand new transmission rebuilt with some parts from the RVs 727. But lost contact with the machine shop.
 
Just make sure they are of compatable years as there were internal design changed that do not allow the mixing of some parts.
 
An engine builder made 550+ hp with a stock RV short block, low compression and all, a .509 cam, ported 516 heads, a Victor intake and an 850 Demon carb. Nothing exotic and it screamed for what went into it. Maybe not the best combo for longevity, but it will get the job done. Why 500-600 hp?
 
20 to 30 G and you may have a truck that works right. Engine, trans, driveline and suspension will all need attention.
 
20 to 30 Grand that sounds about right the reason why i want 600hp or 500hp ive been in truck that had a little over 600hp anything lower felt slow. I'm not going to let these V6s pass me up all the time especially if a V8 sounds louder and pushes more anything higher i would have to try in the future since i feel like i cant handle anything higher. And this truck will be taken to tracks and i will drive it too shows and mostly likely race and go to burn out pits i just wanna be able to let loose.
 
Smurkster said:
20 to 30 Grand that sounds about right the reason why i want 600hp or 500hp ive been in truck that had a little over 600hp anything lower felt slow. I'm not going to let these V6s pass me up all the time especially if a V8 sounds louder and pushes more anything higher i would have to try in the future since i feel like i cant handle anything higher. And this truck will be taken to tracks and i will drive it too shows and mostly likely race and go to burn out pits i just wanna be able to let loose.
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That's a lot to spend for doing burnouts.
 
Naw it won't be just for burn outs im running it on track and the street i wouldn't do it just to burnout would be a waste of money honestly
 
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