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mopar madness


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

okay guys, i am sure you guys are tired of hearing all of my rambling. but hey this is a discusion board right? well i have been looking into running a bbm. specifically a 400. i know where about 5-6 are sitting and the company that owns them (towing company) is going out of busines so i might be able to offer to help him get rid of some of that annoying surplus lying around out there biggrin.gif .

at the very least i am sure i will be able to get 2 of them for like 50 bucks total.

 

why a 400 and not a 440? simple the 400 has the largest stock bore size of any mopar block made (exluding drag race specialty blocks) and the stroke on it isn't all that much either i think it is B:4.34 X S:3.38. so it will rev pretty quickly too. another thing is the 400 has a lower deck height wich saves a little on space too, i don't think it would be much but still with a big block i'm sure every little bit helps. and if i want to i can throw in a factory forged 440 crank and have a beaslty 450 cubes under the hood.

 

another plus in my book for a big block is the fact that all the components are that much tougher and less prone to failure then a small block. not that you would have problems with a sb if you built it right but i figure it is cheap insurance.

 

i would run all the aluminum stuff i could like a set of stage VI heads, alum. water pump, elec. fan, alum. radiator, etc... i figure with the high perf. heads and what not running around 9.5-10.00 true compression i should easily make over 500 HP and over 500 ft/lb. just thinking about that makes me giggle manaically. another thing i noticed is on mopars they usaully have a nice flat torque curve to them.

 

one way to avoid unwanted wheelspin on take off i thought of was to set up the motor's optimum powerband to be from 3000 to 6500 RPMs that way before ALL of the motor's power

hit the ground i should hopefully have my tires nicely planted. i am pretty sure that even with this setup i will probably find first gear useless except to make a sudden smoke cloud to hide my departure and keep them wonderin just what did happen? biggrin.gif

 

luckily i have a bud who is a certified welder that says he will help me out so i should'nt have to much trouble getting it to mount in there. we can make our own mounts or at least retrofit a set out of the donor motor's car body. i will set it as low as the streets around here will permit and another plus about the big block is that the distributor is up front so i can mount it that much closer to the firewall.

 

also to help with the weight ratio i plan on buying as much fiberglass parts for up front as my budget permits. (that could take a while frown.gif ) and relocating things like the battery to the rear of the car. i shoud be making enough ponies that the extra weight shouldn't be a problem, it's just how it is distributed on all four corners.

 

so there you have it.think it can be done? on the plus side the stuff is near by and easily accesible, i have friends that will readily help out with the swap just to see what it can do. it is a miner town we live in and if your under 21 your **** out of luck for anything to do here. so we fiddle with cars. hey it keeps us out of trouble... well..except for when we are driving them smile.gif . downside is the extra weight and added difficulty on swapping it in.

 

as to the driveline i will just run a torqueflite auto with a cheap floor shifter till i get the five speed i want to run. what do you guys think would it be worth it or should stay with the small block idea and wait till i find a good 360?

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Cool deal. Scott Bruning of http://ztherapy.com did a 440 into an early Z once. You might contact him.

 

I can't remember, but isn't the Mopar BB one of those BBs that's not so heavy? And I'm all for a big bore/short stroke V8, especially if you put long rods in it. But the short deck height will probably limit that.

 

Sounds like a cool swap!

 

------------------

Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project

pparaska@home.com

Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages

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Guest Anonymous

I'm thinking about a similar swap with a 440/727 combo I ran across cheap but the weight concerns me and I don't have $1200 right now for aluminum heads. Does anyone know the pros/cons of the 280Z 2+2 (weight,dimensions)? I am thinking that the 440 weighs in around 750 lbs and has the distributor in the front so it can go against the firewall (no latch relocation) and a 2+2 body might have a heavier rear to offset the weight (assuming moving battery to arse also) while engine can make HP as required to hit thrust/weight ratio (once had a 68 GTX). Besides a 6 Pack would look really cool! I imagine a roll cage like the one on Paraska's page would be necessary.

 

Has anyone worked on the 2+2?

What are the engine bay dimensions:

tower to tower, cross member to firewall?

 

My engine is about 30" across (cast iron exhaust) and 30" from back to water pump pulley (+-.5 inch)

 

 

If anyone needs measurements on the 440 I have one in my truck.

 

 

------------------

William Alcorn

Wichita Falls, TX

"Takeoffs are optional, Landings are mandatory"

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Guest Anonymous

hey z pilot nice to hear some one else believes in mopar power. i was just wrighting in response on the remarke you made about a 440 BB weighing in at a whopping 750 lbs. in a previous post of mine a helpful person posted a list of various motors and their weights. im not sure on how accurate the list is (you could be right) but it list mopar BB as this:

 

361-383-400 all weigh in at 620lbs.

 

413-426-440 all weigh in at 670lbs.

 

in my opinion all you need to do is run aluminum components wherever you can and you should be just fine. i am not a certified mechanic take you but that is just my humble opinion.

as to the 2+2, sorry man but i have a '80 280zx coupe so i cant really help you there but i am sure if you ask around here somebady else has one they are working on and will almost definately be willing to share info with you. smile.gif

 

oh, before i forget, if it isn't too much trouble could you give me the measurements on where the motor mounts sit on a mopar big block. i know mopar but all i have ever worked on is a 318. i am very serious about doing a mopar powered swap into my z and all the info i can gather is greatly appreciated.

 

pat

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