Hi,anybody know what are the best heads to use on a mopar 440.My friends got a 69 Charger with a 383,and just bought a early 70's 440 to replace it.He thinks the heads on the 383 are better than the ones n the 440.They are stamped #906.He wannts to make sure,I tried a search on some of the mopar sites but didn't come up with much.I appreciate any info,thanks.
906 heads (68-70) are open chamber but good if you mill the heads down to get a little quench. If you look at the chambers there is a flat secton. I read this in a Mopar Muslcle mag but never tried it. The 64-67 361/383 & 67 std 440 heads are closed chamber. The only drawback is the smaller 1.6" ex. valve. A larger ex. valve will fit. The 67 440hp (516's) had the same size valves as the 906's. 2.08/1.74. I rebuilt a 440 with the 67 516 heads. Then used 906's. Both set of heads were mildly ported. The 67 heads made the engine run much snappier. I believe it was due to the closed chamber design while adding a little more comp. due to the decreased chamber size. It just plain ran better. Aftermarket 2.14/1.81 valves are a common upgrade and readily avail. for all these heads. Of course none of these iron production heads even professionally ported can touch a set of mildly ported Indys. Ray
How about the Stage V Engineering Hemi conversion heads? They might make a nice choice too. For stock though the 906 heads are great and came standard on the HP 440 and 383 from the Roadrunner and such.
Also need to consider the use . Keep the 906 as is and use 93 octane gas. Oh by the way look at a 906 next to a 455 BBB head . Very similar . I saw the very first GS to have a roots blower at the World of Wheels car show in the latye 80's . He used a modified 44 intake as noone made a blower manifold for a Buick ( So claimed the owner)
Thanks guys,I appreciate the information.BTW,what kind of bucks are we talking about with the Indy heads?
couple grand plus extra parts . the indys require external oil lines and all except the EZ have raised exh ports so header fit might be an issue . the BEST head iron head for a wedge mopar would be a max wedge head , but those are $$$ , the second best head in my opinion is the 67 440HP 915 heads , closed chamber , same port as the 906 , but more $$ than a 906 .
close , the 67 440HP heads were 915's , the 516's are the NON HP heads with the small 1.60 exh valve and generally smaller ports , 516's can be reworked for gains , but not to the extent of the 915/906 head . there was also a non hp 915 head , it had a 1.60 exh valve also . and for some odd reason there is also a 915 small block mopar head , though the complete casting number is different , the last 3 digits , 915 , are the same ... also another note , you'd have to take a ton off a 906 , about .100 to make it a closed chamber , this causes other issues , if building a 440 or 400 with an open chamber head is the plan , as much as i don't like them , KB has a step head piston for use with these heads . a cheaper alternative , and best bang for the buck is a set of edlebrock performer rpm heads , they flow out of the box what a set of full ported 906/915 will for not alot more than the cost to do a stock rebuild on a stock iron head . the ebrocks are closer to a stock replacement than the indy heads , if he's not building an all out race motor the ebrocks are a better choice .
No he wont be building an all out race car,but he would like to get around 450hp.This is what he has to work with so far.He has a 383 dated between 1958 and 1962,that came with the 906 heads that probably where put on later.Also has a 67 440 from an Imperial,that came with the 516 heads.Also came up with a 72 hp 440 that came with 346 heads. So are the 346 as good as the 906?Where those meant to replace the 906 heads? He figures the 67 block is best to work with and probably use the 906 heads and have them ported. He wants to go 30 over and replace the pistons to bring up the compression to 10 and 1/4.Can he use the same rods? The crank is good,probably just change the bearings. Any suggestions on manifold,cam,and any other mods to bring him to 450hp? Again thanks for all the input.Tom
Yeah the 915 head was the 67 440hp head. I did a search. More than 1 website says it had the 2.08/1.74. I used the 516's and added a 1.74 ex. valve. Back in the day (25 yrs. ago) I read they were the same head except the exaust valve size. Perhaps they were mistaken. My buddy used edilbocks on his 340. The heads sent shrapnel throughout his engine. The springs ate into the shims. Guy who fixed them said the springs were junk. This engine was built correctly too, from blueprintinting to correct pushrod length. $800 later his 340 runs great. Ray
quote: a cheaper alternative , and best bang for the buck is a set of edlebrock performer rpm heads , they flow out of the box what a set of full ported 906/915 will for not alot more than the cost to do a stock rebuild on a stock iron head . the ebrocks are closer to a stock replacement than the indy heads , if he's not building an all out race motor the ebrocks are a better choice . __________________ No he wont be building an all out race car,but he would like to get around 450hp.This is what he has to work with so far.He has a 383 dated between 1958 and 1962,that came with the 906 heads that probably where put on later.Also has a 67 440 from an Imperial,that came with the 516 heads.Also came up with a 72 hp 440 that came with 346 heads. So are the 346 as good as the 906?Where those meant to replace the 906 heads? He figures the 67 block is best to work with and probably use the 906 heads and have them ported. He wants to go 30 over and replace the pistons to bring up the compression to 10 and 1/4.Can he use the same rods? The crank is good,probably just change the bearings. Any suggestions on manifold,cam,and any other mods to bring him to 450hp? Again thanks for all the input.Tom
