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500hp+ 440 build tips

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rasmus westlin

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Hello!

I have a mild 440 with stock bottom, ported 906 heads (79cc) a bit more aggresive cam, roller rockers , rpm intake. It runs good but i want to have more comp and more cam in my engine. Aiming for 500+ isch HP and a more aggresive sound.

What aluminium heads and camshaft do you recomend for me to achive that?

Pic of my engine.

IMG_5043.jpeg
 
Heads are arguably the biggest bottle neck and limiting factor to squeezing more power from your engine. Indy 440-1 and TrickFlow 240/270 heads seem to be the "go to" for many, and may be the single biggest costing item.

As for camshaft, there are many variables. Street racers don't always want to advertise their engines are super-performing and a long duration camshaft sound gives this away. Increased lift may call for changes to rocker assemblies and valve trains and, in turn, greater expense. A longer duration may result in more difficult cold starts or a higher stall toque converter. All of these factors may result in a car more difficult to drive on the street.

I'm gonna suggest there is no one right answer to the camshaft question. But do give this some thought and decide which of the factors mentioned above are important to you.

Planning for some builds begins with the heads, and everything else is selected/changed/machined around that. If you're rebuilding the whole motor, you may have more options and you'll have better luck finding the perfect camshaft to meet your needs.
 
pschlosser said:
Heads are arguably the biggest bottle neck and limiting factor to squeezing more power from your engine. Indy 440-1 and TrickFlow 240/270 heads seem to be the "go to" for many, and may be the single biggest costing item.

As for camshaft, there are many variables. Street racers don't always want to advertise their engines are super-performing and a long duration camshaft sound gives this away. Increased lift may call for changes to rocker assemblies and valve trains and, in turn, greater expense. A longer duration may result in more difficult cold starts or a higher stall toque converter. All of these factors may result in a car more difficult to drive on the street.

I'm gonna suggest there is no one right answer to the camshaft question. But do give this some thought and decide which of the factors mentioned above are important to you.

Planning for some builds begins with the heads, and everything else is selected/changed/machined around that. If you're rebuilding the whole motor, you may have more options and you'll have better luck finding the perfect camshaft to meet your needs.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answear! Its the ”sixpack” Pistons. Its also a 4 speed car. I was thinking of use the edelbrock heads with 75cc chambers with thinner head gaskets to get atleast 11.0:1 in compression with the comp xtreme 295HL cam (564 lift)

Does that sound as a good combination?
 
I think just about any aluminum head out there with a smaller combustion chamber than you 906s will work. Just check them out or have someone check them before you bolt them on. And any camshaft with approximately .510+ lift and 240ish degree duration at .050 inches will make 500hp or more in a 440 with 10.0+:1 compression. Lunati Voodoo cams (old Ultradyne grinds) are tough to beat.
Your combo will work, but be careful what head gasket you use. Remember you're dealing with dissimilar metals with a cast iron block and aluminum heads. Fel-Pro 1009 gaskets are hard to beat for unknown block surface finish.
 
I would NOT use Eddy RPM heads Or a Comp cam , ever , far better choices are available !
I ported a set of stock 452 castings , we swapped to ported Eddy RPM heads [I ported] for a total gain of 3 RWHP almost 1k / HP , if you want a budget head use the 440 Source stealths at far less cost than Eddys , or for better HP use Trick Flow 240 heads .
I agree , Lunati has far better grinds for Mopar engines , Engle is also good .
I can help you choose a good grind with more info .
 
440 source has options to run larger cams than .510" lift with their stealth heads. You need to swap out the valve springs, retainers and keepers. Cool thing is they look just like 906 heads from the outside. Call them if you go this route. Initially there were issues with their heads but I think they are trying hard to make a good product and please their customers.
Also, unless someone knows of somebody else, 440 source is the only source for Trick-Flow 240 heads that have springs for flat tappet camshafts. Everyone else seems to be set up for roller camshafts.
 
Xcudame said:
I think just about any aluminum head out there with a smaller combustion chamber than you 906s will work. Just check them out or have someone check them before you bolt them on. And any camshaft with approximately .510+ lift and 240ish degree duration at .050 inches will make 500hp or more in a 440 with 10.0+:1 compression. Lunati Voodoo cams (old Ultradyne grinds) are tough to beat.
Your combo will work, but be careful what head gasket you use. Remember you're dealing with dissimilar metals with a cast iron block and aluminum heads. Fel-Pro 1009 gaskets are hard to beat for unknown block surface finish.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input! Can you recomend a good high lifting cam from luunati? I know trickflow is the ”best” heads, but they also have the same size of combustion Chambers as my 906 heads. And i want more comp then i have now to get more power and better sound. My engine is not a stroker, they maybe work better if you have a 500+ inch cui ?
 
Chryco Psycho said:
I would NOT use Eddy RPM heads Or a Comp cam , ever , far better choices are available !
I ported a set of stock 452 castings , we swapped to ported Eddy RPM heads [I ported] for a total gain of 3 RWHP almost 1k / HP , if you want a budget head use the 440 Source stealths at far less cost than Eddys , or for better HP use Trick Flow 240 heads .
I agree , Lunati has far better grinds for Mopar engines , Engle is also good .
I can help you choose a good grind with more info .
Click to expand...
Thsnks for your answear, good to know! I dont think Engle is around anymore. Also the trickflow heads has the same CC as my 906 heads. I want higher comp then i have now.
 
Without touching the short block (milling the deck or installing taller pistons) the best way to increase compression is to have the heads milled. Do you know what your static compression ratio is now? Did you check the chamber size of your current 906 heads? How far are your pistons in the hole? What is more important than compression ratio is having the correct quench area (.040" to .050") as this really helps eliminate predetenation problems. All the aluminum heads are designed for that quech area.

IMO, you can't just through parts on an engine and expect it to work perfectly the way you want it to. You need to design the entire engine for what you want to do from the start. That being said, Chryco Physco said if you gave him more details about your current engine, he could recommend a camshaft. He's got an excellent reputation here and has obviously "been there and done that".
 
Xcudame said:
Without touching the short block (milling the deck or installing taller pistons) the best way to increase compression is to have the heads milled. Do you know what your static compression ratio is now? Did you check the chamber size of your current 906 heads? How far are your pistons in the hole? What is more important than compression ratio is having the correct quench area (.040" to .050") as this really helps eliminate predetenation problems. All the aluminum heads are designed for that quech area.

IMO, you can't just through parts on an engine and expect it to work perfectly the way you want it to. You need to design the entire engine for what you want to do from the start. That being said, Chryco Physco said if you gave him more details about your current engine, he could recommend a camshaft. He's got an excellent reputation here and has obviously "been there and done that".
Click to expand...
I understand that, this is the engine details that i know of, i cant gurante that it is the same camshaft because when i bought the car the engine was kinda fresh rebuilt because something happend with the engine with the previous owner.

I got a book with the car and then the engine specs is:

440 drilled 0.60
Edelbrock performer RPM
Quick fuel 850
906 heads (intake valves 2,08) (exhaust valves 1.74)
Camshaft mopar performance with 0,509 lift and 292 degrees duration (c:a 242 at 0,005)
Dubbleroller from mancini racing
TRW forged sixpack pistons with 9,7:1 in compression.

This is what the book says it is in my engine. I think its to ”tame” , the car is a 4 speed with 3.55 in the rear. Iam planing to change to a 3.91.

So what is my best options if i want more horsepower?
 
If you go with the Stealth heads, you'll need swap out the valve springs, retainers and keepers for the Lunati cams. The stock valves are only good to .510" lift. The "705" cam will work, it just likes a little more compression (10.5:1) than the"704" cam (10.0:1 which you're closer to). Check valve clearances regardless.
 
Do you know what head gasket you're currently using? There may be some compression to be had there - albeit not getting you from 9.7:1 to 11:1 but every little bit helps. Also, one of the advantages of aluminum heads, even at the same combustion chamber size, is the ability of aluminum to tolerate more compression than your iron 906 heads. As many have said, it will be a combination of parts to get the engine to where you want it to be. I second the recommendation to gather as much info as possible on your current engine & share it with Chryco - he'll get you sorted out. Best wishes & keep us posted on how you go about this.
 
I see from the Lunati 705 cam info you posted that you are across the pond in Sweden. How available are parts for you?
 
I have 240 heads on a 440 right at 10.5 to 1…. The cam is .520/ 541 lift 244/252 duration@ .050, 1.6 rocker arms It’s in a 66 Coronet that must weigh 4000 lbs with me in it….. runs 11.5 with good air and 200 lbs in the trunk. That with a 3.73 rear and Holley 950 hp……. That engine has well over 800 1/4 runs on it
 
9.8:1, TF240's, Ultradyne profile SFT 243/247 .586/.594 108lsa, 1.6's (with 305 DR's and 3.54's, punching it at 2400 squeal's the tires through 1st).
And I neither confirm nor deny that there's a very disappointed 2024 Mustang "Dark Horse" edition (500hp) owner in my neighborhood.

20221016_084955.jpg
 
mayhem said:
I see from the Lunati 705 cam info you posted that you are across the pond in Sweden. How available are parts for you?
Click to expand...
Yes i live in Sweden , its faster to get parts in USA of course, if summit or others have the parts in stock, its only takes 2-3 days before it arrives here.
 
rikkitik said:
9.8:1, TF240's, Ultradyne profile SFT 243/247 .586/.594 108lsa, 1.6's (with 305 DR's and 3.54's, punching it at 2400 squeal's the tires through 1st).
And I neither confirm nor deny that there's a very disappointed 2024 Mustang "Dark Horse" edition (500hp) owner in my neighborhood.

View attachment 110348
Click to expand...
Nice! Is it stock bottom? Any sound of it running?
 
Ceylontii said:
I have 240 heads on a 440 right at 10.5 to 1…. The cam is .520/ 541 lift 244/252 duration@ .050, 1.6 rocker arms It’s in a 66 Coronet that must weigh 4000 lbs with me in it….. runs 11.5 with good air and 200 lbs in the trunk. That with a 3.73 rear and Holley 950 hp……. That engine has well over 800 1/4 runs on it
Click to expand...
Not a stroker?
 
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