Mopar 440. What can be said about this engine?

Actually, it was used in Chrysler, and was listed as an optional engine. All six of the Chrysler Ghia GT's used 350 Golden Lions that year also. I won't argue the Dodge and DeSoto cars using them, although I've never heard of it. It's not listed as a specific brand engine that year. But in real life, I've only seen it in Plymouths as the 350 Golden Commando, and in a few Chryslers as the Golden Lion. Both were dual quad equipped. I ***umed that since Ma MoPar was trying to get the market to recognize Plymouth as a possible choice for the performance car, the offered this motor with the dual quad option as an incentive.

I'm also interested in your source for the 383 being an RB engine for a few years, as well as being both a "B" and an "RB" for a year. Wouldn't that entail two different crank shafts for different stroke? Or different pistons to account for the extra deck height? I can't find that in any of my books, but I would love to use that as an arguing point with the MoPar Religious crowd if it's true and I have printed matter to back it up.

 

Ray Gun, Here you go. Motors Auto Repair Manuals. The 1960 - 23rd edition does not list the short stroke 383 used in Chryslers in 1960. The 1961 - 24th edition of Motors lists the RB 383 for 59 & 60, it also lists the regular short stroke 383 in 1960.
The 1961 book only lists two engines for Chryslers 1959 year model the 413 & 383RB. The 1961 book lists three engines for Chryslers 1960 year model the 413, 383RB, and 383B. None of the books list the 350B in a Chrysler. 350B is listed one year only for Dodge, Desoto,& Plymouth. I have not found the 383RB used in anything except a 59-60 Chrysler.
The RB 383 uses the same stroke/crank as a 413. I read 'somewhere' that the RB383 used the same casting as a 413, I don't know. I also read 'somewhere' that the RB383 did well in racing, more torque, long rods, etc, I don't know for sure. I've "heard" that the modern day chevy 383 has almost the same bore & stroke as the old Chrysler RB 383. I don't know chevys so I can't compare numbers. I installed a RB383 in a 60 Plymouth back in 1967. The 'certified' police speedometer would easily go all the way to 140, I was young & crazier then. I hope this helps. I'll help anyway I can. I didn't make any of this up, I've read it somewhere. More info? Please ask.

Good Luck.

Lucky667

 

The 383 was indeed a RB engine in the early 60's, it had the same exact bore and stroke as a 383 Chevy stroker, 4.030 x 3.75
Strange, but true.

 

1958 to 1960...?

 

59-60 only. 4.0312 X 3.750

Lucky667

 

The RB 383s were available with the long rams too were they not Lucky?

 

RB 383s with long rams? None of the books I've read have them, but allpar.com tells of RB383s being used in some D500 Dodges. Go to allpar.com and search for RB383, you will be surprised by all of the information.
Good Luck.

Lucky667

 

You are right about the radius, But the machine shop turns them down when thay turn the crank. I have never had any problem with balancing, the cranks are knife edged race pieces and they spin real nice. The keyway is in a different position so you have to remark the balancer. The keyways are also wider but Keith Black sells a step keyway to convert it. The real nuisance is there is no crosshatch machining on the oil seal journal. They leak but it's not horrible. Every one I have had the snout is the same length as a stock 440. I have also never seen one with other than stock radius on the both the mains and rod journals. I'm not saying they don't exist... it just doesn't seem that common.

 

Maybe I need to go back and study my books but as I remember , the 383 was not an RB which is why the 383 intakes will not fit on the 440 without spacers. Aside from that detail , The 440 is bad *** . I have one in my polara .It is fairly stock and at 3700 pounds with 10" goodyear slicks , I can break em loose at 25 mph. What a rush .............

 

Great engine, i am currently putting one in a 30 ford rpu, it's i tight fit, as well as over powering for a small car like that, but it's different, and everyone put's in small blocks and hemi's, not that there is anything wrong with that, but...$$$. Good luck with your 440

 

I have one. It's the next best thing after the 426 Hemi

Find out what year the engine was manufactured. It makes a world of difference.

 

You're absolutely right about that. The "B" engines ranged from 361 cid to 400 cid throughout their life. The 440 was an "RB" engine. The intake manifolds between the "B" and "RB" are not interchangeable.

Now... the question really is "Mopar 440. What CAN'T be said about this engine."

WOO HOO!

 

Man I always wished I could find the orignal Cross Ram intake like that for my ride... That is really friggin' awsome!

 

Let's not muddy the waters here . . . there was an RB 383, but most you will see are B engines.

With Rod/Stroke ratios chevy's could only dream of, big bores, deep skirt blocks, lots of iron and Mopar engineering the 440 may have been the greatest street racer/drag racer engine second only to the hemi. With the number of aftermarket parts available (you can pretty much build a brand new 440) long live the king!

 

I remember in about 1979-1980 a guy pulled in to a local cruise with a 383 long ram Chrysler, he claimed the intake was stock and the car was all original. He seemed to know his stuff pretty well... I just always wondered.

 

383 was available in BOTH low deck (B) and raised block (RB) form, read through the thread above...

 

Keep an eye on ebay, there have been several in the last couple of months...certainly not cheap, but they were available. Be cautious however, the exhaust rotted the chamber under the carbs so inspect that area first.

.

 

I have owned quite a few 440's and they have all been very good engines. Lots of torque, and power. I think they look the best with a cross ram or six pack on top.

 

the 838 and the 413 were low decks.

426 and 440 are tall deck. Niether has a cross bolted crank and its is next to impossible to cross bolt one. The hemi had more room between the webs and the pan rail.
The 426 wedge could be had with a mechanical cam.

426 Hemi heads bolt right on (with minor modification) but real pricey for no more than you gain. You can make the wedge heads breath as well as the hemi so your only real gain is wow factor.

Chrysler is building and marketing a 500" hemi they call it a whale. So the 440 is not the biggest MOPAR but it is the biggest cubic inch wise that could be purchased off the show room floor.

The later cast crank will handle up to 700 HP naturaly aspirated with the lower end set up right according to MOPAR Performance.

The 440 is a low RPM mill as compaired to say a short stroke small block. But they produce enough torque out of the box that a 3.55:1 gear is considered to be a low gear for one.

They are not cheap to build if built right (compared to say an SBC). But they are durable and you don't normally go through one very often if its properly cared for.

 

As a Mopar guy, I just have to way in on this. The 440 is an awe inspiring engine. For a little bit of money invested in performance parts, the 440 can be a 500 to 600 horse monster. I really hope that it fits in my '55 Royal, but I've heard people have had problems fitting a Big Block/Torqueflite setup, which is what I want to do.
I would absolutely love to have the old fashioned Cross Ram intake, unfortunately, not many are left, fuel tends to pool into the low spots, and it's hard as hell to get to the spark plugs.

 

the 413 were low decks
413s are all RB.

426 Hemi heads bolt right on (with minor modification)
Only if you consider welding on an extra row of head bolts minor.

 

"Let's not muddy the waters here." Great words. My information came from 'hands on', 1961-24th Edition of Motors Auto Repair Manual, and allpar.com, there may be some mistakes there. But,...
There was a RB 383, it's rare, it's listed for use in some 1959-1960 Chryslers,(check the 1961-24th edition of Motors). 350 B was the first B block in 1958. The 24th edition lists the 350B installed in Dodge, Plymouth, & Desoto.
There is an article on allpar.com saying that there were some RB383's with long rams installed in some special D500 Dodges. Who knows?
All 413's, all 426W's, & all 440's are RB. YES.
Go to 'allpar.com' and type RB383 in the search function, then read carefully, YOU might be surprised & even learn something- I did.
Good Luck.

Lucky667

 

Awesome. Now I have more argument ammo, so to speak, when talking with MoPar Religious guys. I love it.

As for the long ram on a 383, well, I won't go as far as saying it never happened guys. Let's face it, back then almost anything was just a stroke of a pen on an order sheet away. Even custom stuff. And if the factory wouldn't do it, but the dealer knew it would work, he'd just order up the parts and do it as a "dealer installed" item. Hence the 383 Darts in the late '60's. Chrysler engineers said it wouldn't work. Mr. Norm proved them wrong at the dealership.

All the factory had to do was take the long ram from the 413 and past it on the 383RB, and voila.

 

I always heard (just rumors, no verification)the stock connecting rods were weak, other than that no problems.We had one in our racing fire truck, was always dependable.

 

Long rams on a 383 were fairly common. Well, as far as ram-inducted Mopars go.

Every Sonoramic '60 Plymouth had a ram tube intake installed on a 361 or (available in mid/late '60) a 383, as did the D-500 Dodge of the same year. For '61, the little 361 was dropped, the tall-deck 383 became the base ram-induction engine, and the top engine became a monster ram inducted 413. That's when the Ramchargers and Super Stock drag racing stepped in and things really started getting crazy.

The 383s were tall deck big blocks (RB) through 1960.

B engines: 350-361-late 383-400
RB engines: early 383-413-426-440

 

If you try to spin it 7000 rpm with the stock rods and pistons, yeah, you will break something. But who needs to spin over 6000 with a 440 street motor? If you do, there are relatively inexpensive aftermarket rods available.

While we are here, 70 and newer six pack and some magnum engines had "six pak" rods in them which were more like hemi rods, much stronger. They were however heavier and required external balancing via a special harmonic balancer.

 

Back when ,I used to see a lot of B Block Mopars with tricks done to the oiling system.Swinging pick ups,special Milidon oil pump spacers, etc.Is this drag race only stuff or necessary on a built street engine?

 

How "built" is your street engine? A high volume oil pump goes a long way in a street motor, but if you are spinning high rpms, making 600 horsepower, have large bearing clearances, you will need to go to a Milodon external pickup system. Also, strokers require external oiling.

My 400 I built for my truck has a high volume pump, and I opened up the pickup tube hole to 1/2" pipe thread and built a deep pan and pickup tube for it and expect that motor to live a long life.