Motor home engines, good bad or indifferent???

[moonrunner1972]

Ok so here it is, are motor home engines good for rebuilds and street applications. What are the pros and cons of using them as a foundation for a rebuild? My plan is to build a 440 for my 73' Polara to replace the mild 400 currently residing between it's fenders. My hopes for the end result would be a streetable engine that has decent performance. I have no intentions of racing however I would like some decent acceleration and of course respectable performance. Would it be a wise choice to use a motor home 440 for this purpose?
:3gears:

 

[goodneighbour]

If your building a motor,have you considered stroking your 400?

 

[moonrunner1972]

If your building a motor,have you considered stroking your 400?

I have considered the idea however I want a 440 in the car. I honestly believe that I will regret doing anything less.

 

[commando1]

The block is no different than any 440 and the heads are the best ones ever put on a 440. The cast crank is easily good for 500 hp which you'll never reach if you're building a street engine. I have zero qualms about using a 440 from a MH.

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[detmatt]

The block is no different than any 440 and the heads are the best ones ever put on a 440. The cast crank is easily good for 500 hp which you'll never reach if you're building a street engine. I have zero qualms about using a 440 from a MH.

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I would have to say that nothing beats a closed chamber head such as a 915. Just as there's no substitute for cubic inches there's also no substitute for decent compression and nothing lays the groundwork for good compression like a closed chamber casting.

 

[commando1]

I would have to say that nothing beats a closed chamber head such as a 915.

Tests have shown that 452's flow better than the 915's.
I put the all the praise about 915's into the urban legend category.
But everyone has their own preference.
On the street with a stock or an only slightly modified engine, you will never feel the difference between the two.

 

[Kernel Sanders]

If the engine does have the 452 heads you will also have the benifit in knowing that they have induction hardened seats as well so you dont have to worry at all about using unleaded gas or expensive additives... I, myself dont worry too much about that anyway even though I dont have hardened seats, I dont put a lot of miles on my car annualy anyway.