I am building a 57' plymouth and its getting time to figure out which motor I should drop in it to get rid of the 350 chebby thats currently under the hood. This car is going to be a cruiser, so I would like something with a boatload of torque that gives reasonable gas milage, and has to be bulletproof since I am planning on driving this car - everywhere! This is a quick low budget build since my 55' is still taking all my money. I am swapping a ford 8.8 into the car with 3.08 or 2.73 gears. Here's what I currently have: The 75' 350 thats in the car 2brl (have a 67' intake and Qjet to swap on) TH350 Smokes a little from one bank, but its already in the car and running. Its not a good installation, but livable for now. 72' 413 Big block mopar Motorhome motor with low miles, runs strong Torque monster, but tiny cam and valves, 7.5:1 compression, reputation for toughness 727 trans huge bottom end torque, but thats it (rated 265hp@3600/ 405 ft-lbs at 2400rpm) 72' 440 Big Block Mopar Standard Passenger car motor Unknown condition - bought it as is and was told its a runner 727 - also unknown condition A standard 440 - should have decent power, rated at 230hp@4400/355ft-lbs@2800
IMO mopar to mopar, chebby to chebby , etc.. I would be thinking 318, had a 65 D100 318 truck super ugly & rotted that used almost NO gas, tire fryer.
The Chevy may be boring, but is cheap to build and if correctly done will be very reliable. The Mopars will cost alot more to build. Forget about "reasonable" gas milage with the big Mopars,they also weigh more. More weight=less fuel econmoy.
This is a low budget build and I would like to avoid rebuilding anything if possible. I also don't have a 318 I could swap in, or want to swap a motor that small into this big car. Gutless...and I have had many 318's. A 904 will not live a long life either. *No 318 recommendations please.* Like I said above - the 350 is not a good install. To make it right I would have to drop the motor about 6 inches, and move it back about 6 inches, and change the brake booster to a smaller one. Its livable for now, but the driveline angles are not correct, and the engine smokes out of the drivers bank. I would be happy with mid teens gas milage - it would be the same as my daily driver truck.
my 318 will kick the hell outa 350 s with 4 barrels all day long..... 318 is a torque monster and i get 20mpg with my 2 barrel.... If not the 318 then do the 440 for the grunt... Torque is 10 times more fun than horsepower
Try swapping one of your big blocks for a 318 or 360. They should be all over junkyards since they made them for decades. I don't know about '57 but in earlier years the big steering box made big-block swaps a pain.
I put a 383 in a 58 Plymouth back in the 60s in my back yard so it's not difficult. I'd go for the 413 because they are rare today. I did put an Isky hydraulic cam in it. It might not be that big of a savings in fuel over the 440 but it would be an unusual engine by today's standards. A 57 Ply with a 413 would be cool IMHO.
440, no question. Find a Mopar 8 3/4 rear end, lots were Posi. Then you have the same wheel bolt pattern all around. Also much tougher than an 8.8.
Ford 8.8's from explorers have the right width, bolt pattern, and 31 spline trak lok equipped ones can be had for about $150. They are a great bargain axle for a budget build. The car currently has a 4.10 geared 7.5" S10 rear in it.
Can see that one blowing if you put some motor up front. 8.75 mopar has some stronger points than a ford 9" been running 1 for 2 yrs and is the 741 case and holds up good. Look at widths of b body mopars and late 60s pickup 8.75's should be the same hub face dimensions...
Around here a suregrip pot alone goes for $400, and a complete B body rear with a Surgrip will get $500-600. 8.8 is $150.....buuuuuuudddddggggeeeet buuuuuiiilllld! And I can get it disk brake or drum.
Well you don't have many choices 3 wheezer motor none known for fuel mileage 2 that need rebuilt or are in unknown condition. The 350 would be the cheapest to go through of the 3 and probably produce the best mileage of the 3 when done. The 440 will produce the most torque with the least amount of tweak and the 413 sounds like it needs the least amount of work. I like 413s myself as well as 440s. The 413 if you are on a strict budget will be the cheapest to swap in. or you could limp the 350 along while you are actually building an engine with enough comression to get decent mileage and make a little torque.
Clean up the 350 installation, save a few bucks and put a new crate motor. You can keep the hood closed or dress up the 350 nice where you would want the hood open.
He has better choices of motors there, and SBC is nothing spectacular, continuing use of the SBC in there would be LAME. Thats my opinion.... 413 would be the best for what you got, or trade that 440/727 combo for a 318/904 and get almost the same hp and torque out of it stock..
I am starting to lean towards the 413, and hope the massive motorhome manifolds will fit between the frame rails. They dump in the right place.
If this is a daily driver and not your project, save some time and money. Leave it as is , you won`t get sidetracked and you will have more money for your project. I too like a chev in a chev etc, but why are you starting another project when you haven`t finished your last one?
too bad you wernt closer, just sold a truck motor with low miles 318 for 200 bucks. Might be making headers for that 413 if those boat anchors dont fit huh?
There were probably a million or so of those Plymouth's and Dodges used as Taxis with 318s in them and they were nearly indestructable. I had one in a Dodge van that went 200K plus with almost no issues and the mileage was decent. Since none of your available options are "shovel ready", I would trade for a 318 and stick it in.
Either engine would be good. Nice thing about these big block engines is they don't have to work as hard to get a heavy car rolling, where as the tiny little 318 will need more throttle to achieve the same result. As long as you don't drive around with the hammer down all the time, I think you'll be surprised.
with your info- the 413. Then save up later for some better heads if you want. you said the chev is weak, and the installation already doesn't meet your level of detail, so there ya go. 440 is an un known egine. check it for forged crank, keep it for later stroker build? 413 = winner.
I absolutely agree with the 318 idea. Not only does it 'belong' in there, it will surprise you with mileage and performance. Customer of mine had a '55 F100, a divorce, no money, and had to get the truck running. His wife had left a '79 Dodge Diplomat at his house, brakes were 'out'. We pulled the 318 and 904 Torqueflite out, planted them in the F100. Driveline was a close fit, but he was sooooo Chevy oriented I had to keep reassuring him of the soundness of the plan. (he was broke, but still 'choosy'...) When I finished it up, (Dodge radiator, alternator, regulator, Carter thermoquad, etc.) I did a nice tune and drove it. When he drove it, he was amazed at how smooth it was. And how responsive! (we left the F100 Dana 3.70 rear in there, so it came out of the chute spinning tires) Mileage was good, around town...Freeway speeds it was running high RPM, he changed to a 9" rear (from a '63 pickup) later on. He loved that combo, never changed it. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was done, I had really talked it up about that 318.
Pull the heads off the 413 and bolt on the bigger valve heads from the 440... The '72 440 heads might have come with hardened valve seats for low-lead fuel... I could be wrong... An RV cam swap wouldn't hurt.. Or get one of Mopar's famous "purple grinds"..
The weakest link in any Mopar is ANY Chevy parts. A whole engine!!?? Get that POS outta there! Find a friend with a boat to give it to, he can use it for an anchor. 413 is tough as nails, and as mentioned above, you can get a set of better heads at a later date. (Indy Areohead rebuilds are very good, and very reasonable). That'll wake that 413 up right now.
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