My father in law was diagnosed this last weekend with terminal cancer. He has an engine that has been sitting on a stand for a couple of years. He was left with the bill for the machine work by his son some time ago which is how he ended up with it. Short block has been rebuilt, heads have been rebuilt, needs a cam, has all the tin, distributor, etc. apparently the motor was in a jet boat, but was not a special marine engine. No freeze plugs in it, and you can see the block is clean, not a rusted out hulk. I need to know an approximate value of the engine, where might be a good place to look for a new owner, is the motor good for hot rod projects, etc. I think he has 3 grand in it as it sits. I am considering buying it, but I don’t really need it, nor do I need a boat anchor. Any advice is appreciated.
We need the casting numbers to see when it was made. There's usually a price difference between say a '69 440 and a '78 motorhome engine.
yup, look for the casting number and casting date on the sides of the block, also look for the stamp on the top of the block, front, on the pad.
just curious......what physical differences are there between early 440 passenger blocks and later truck applications that would significantly affect utility and therefore, value? I do understand that many times truck block/heads applications of the same displacement differ from passenger applications. Is that also the case with 440 engines? Asking for a friend... Ray
No physical differences car vs truck that I have ever seen or industrial. most of the so called late thin wall engine's really where not all that thin either. been playing with big block mopar's over 30 years.
I think that would depend on what mods were made by the machine shop rebuild the OP referenced. If that is not given consideration, value differences could be fairly described as just ‘birthplace snobbery’...... Ray
Correct engine/trans. or at the very least the right year, is everything to Mopar collectors. I probably could have doubled or even tripled the money I got for a 68 Charger I sold several years ago. It had a newer block.
Like Squirrel said.... If it is an early casting / dated block they are sought after by people restoring older cars. Some of those have the vin stamped just above the oil pan on the passenger side. If it came out of a boat or motorhome... Racers won't care... A whole new audience to sell to! What pistons are in it? What rods? Forged or cast crank? Which head casting numbers? Lots of things can make or break the value of it.
Given the situation, my first gut thought was thinking, said Son should show up and stand tall with $3000, make peace and haul away his 440. And then he can be tasked with selling it to recoup his misadventure. Maybe that's not in the cards an I apologize for going off half cocked but that was the first answer that my mind calc'd.
Cranks are steel pre 71 - although builders say the cast Mopar cranks can make the horse power - but what do you want in your HP build ? Like was said Mopar blocks will give you the date code/cubic inch on the side of the block - the code on the engine pad doesn't really mater much like the side numbers - just says what it started out as and not what's in it now. Good luck with the sale - if it's a 1971 block or earlier and has a vin on the pan rail you could list it on B Bodies only.
There is no such thing as a thin block 440. This has been proven many times thru the years. 440 source has even went thru great extremes to prove this, among others. Second many say the cast crank is plenty capable of 550 to 600 hp with no problem. As far as value as stated above unless its early performance block it could vary. .
The casting numbers indicate it is a 440 RB 66-72. I was unable to see any stampings on the oil pan rail. I need to cut the plastic off, but I didn’t have a roll to replace it with, so it will have to wait until next time.
First, let’s start with the pad on the top left front opposite the distributor hole. This will tell most of the story. Depends on the year of the block wether or not there is a VIN number stamping.
Edited to strike my comment per Squirrel's comment below, but the following still holds. With that being a jet boat motor, the crank, rods, pistons, etc could be anything but likely at least modified if not aftermarket parts.
you guys haven't figured out that the picture a few posts above, is NOT the mystery engine, right? It's an example of what to look for.
Is F440,,,,,a 71 ? The HP2 blocks were usually 6 pack pieces,,,,,but not always . It got where they were using HP2 blocks in 4 barrel applications as well . And yes,,,,,some of those 4 barrel engines had 6 pack rod assemblies. A friend had one he had purchased as a factory short block assembly. Got it for cheap,,,,back in the late 70,s,,,,,brand new short block from Mopar . Had all the good stuff,,,,he was lucky . I’m pretty sure the F is a 70 model engine? Tommy
I have several 440,s,,,,,,I have two that the blocks were cast 9 months apart,,,,but the 10,000 day ,,date calendar and serial numbers were only 300 apart. That block sat for all those months and then was built only a couple days apart,,,,,that cool . These old motors are pretty good engines,,,,if you like Mopars,,,,LoL. Tommy
Actually no. It doesn't matter to a collector of late 60's muscle cars what's been done to the block. They're looking for a engine code that matches up with those muscle car era cars, so a well built 1978 440 isn't appealing to them, but even a core from '69-70 is.
They made a high compression 4 barrel dual exhaust 440 with the same heavy duty guts as the 440 six pack used in Road Runners and GTXs. They put them in Imperials and Town and Country wagons.
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