Is it a stroker or stock 440

[Flchallenger]

How deep does a piston go down from the top of the block in a stock 440. I have a 440 that is supposed to have a 522 stroker crank and rods. I have been having some issues so I pulled a head and measured the depth of the piston at bottom. It measured 4 5/8 inch deep is this more than stock?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Factory stroke is 3.75 so assuming the piston come flush with the deck it would be a .875 longer stroke , probably a .75 stroke & the piston does not come flush with the deck

 

[Flchallenger]

Great thanks. That answers my question. Has to be a stroker if if going over 4.5 inches in the hole.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I agree it has to be

 

[Ted70challenger]

Measure tdc then measure bdc . That tells stroke you should measure bore as well. With these two measurements you can actually tell cubic inch displacement.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

my bet is 528 ci

 

[Cojohnso]

That is considerably deeper than stock. 522 looks about right if standard bore. I'm guessing 528 build. Which is a common stroker kit. Maybe as big as 540? Also a stroker kit.

 

[Ted70challenger]

I’m jelly

 

[Flchallenger]

Supposed to be 522. I bought several years back from Carolina Motors, But have had it rebuilt and alot of things happened and I had a lack of confidence in the builder after I got it back. But wanted to make sure if I was this far down into the engine.

 

[Ted70challenger]

If you have little or no confidence in the builder , I would flip it over and inspect the crankcase if for no other reason to be certain the parts you purchased are in fact in it . And while you’re at it , dail in the cam to be certain it is what you payed for as well .

 

[Flchallenger]

I am not following you on the cam. Can you explain a little.

 

[Ted70challenger]

I was referring to dail in the cam . This is a important assembly step . You will need your cam card and a few special tools . Such as a dail wheel ( cheep ) a piston stop ( cheep ) and a dial indicator . It seams complicated but it isn’t really. You can squeeze about 25 horses more out of the motor.

 

[Ted70challenger]

If you like you can dial your cam to be retarded by up to 4 degrees. Or you can run it advanced up to 4 degrees or straight up 0 .
Advanced cam Timing gives better low rpm performance ( like if you’re cam is a little to big )
Retarded timing takes from the low rpms and gives better high rpm performance. ( like if you got deep gears )
You can’t go wrong straight up 0 degrees .
BUT the biggest reason to dial in a cam is because the slot on the crank or the cam or the timing gears might be off . If you don’t check things can be very off time + or - several degrees ( yes It can and often is !! )

 

[Ted70challenger]

What size cam does that 522 have ? Please be a roller cam

 

[Flchallenger]

It's comp XE268h-10 Hydraulic
Gross Valve lift Intake .477 Exh .480
I was told this is for a low compression motor. This has 440 source alm heads, Supposed to be 10:1 compression. Has 1.6 comps ultra roller rockers. Dished pistons, Motor was originally built by Carolina motors. It overheated cracked the block had someone swap everything over and I wanted it a little more street friendly. I asked for milder cam, but I when I got the car back it was dog lifters clattering. So I pulled valve covers find to collapsed lifters, all lifters were loose. I just kept taking parts off. I wanted to know if the stoker kit was there or not. It's been a long strange trip and it's not over yet. I should have left to over cam in it. Hind sight.

 

[Flchallenger]

I am at the point that I am pulling the motor and going thru it. I just don't any confidence after all the other things wrong. I was thinking of contacting Hughes about rebuilding it.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

This is common , you start finding small problems & all of a sudden the whole engine is torn down .
I don't have a good rebuilder suggestion for you , Hughes can be difficult & expensive .
I can help with a lot of part suggestions to build a monster if that is of interest .

 

[Ted70challenger]

That sucks for you . Maybe go to a car club or go to a local car show and ask for local referrals. Honestly that cam is tiny cam for 500 cubes . The extra cubes will make a cam seam smaller . Don’t be afraid of going over .5 lift . if you start removing rod or main caps then it’s rebuilding time I hope it doesn’t go that far for you . Good luck

 

[oldkimmer]

That cam is small even for a 440. It’s how ur builder interpreted ur tamer street manners. The 545 lift comp cam would be right at home in there. I’m not recommending them just something to compare it too. Where is the old cam? Strokers eat up a lot of duration. Kim

 

[Cojohnso]

They make hydrolic roller cams at .550. Unless you plan on pushing a stroker motor over 6500 rpm? It seems to me to be the logical choice for a mean street machine. I thought the beauty of a stroker is getting the lowend torque with the desired HP without pushing into the higher RPM bands?