More projects? Sure why not. Been keeping this under wraps for a bit, but here we go. Took out the 440ci big block Mopar and swapping in a 6.0L Chevrolet LS motor.
LS is a great motor and practical, with enough low end torque. Me, if less grunt is necessary, I prefer a Ford Coyote or better, the Voodoo! I never thought I'd see the day when one of the "Big 3", now 2, would make a 4 cam 32 valve V8!
I think you'll find many takers for that 440 so long as it can be rebuilt. The 440 and 727 trans were an excellent combination. I have a buddy who bought one of these for the 440 and ended up putting it in a 440 coronet.
That smell is probably the formaldahyde that keeps them from rotting.But that winnebago looks as good as new. Thanks for posting,I'm interested in fuel mileage you get with the LS when your done.
I gave this a thumbs-up because usually these old campers are junked for the big block motors (reference to Roadkill and the General Mayhem). In this case, the motor was junked for the camper itself. I watched all the subsequent videos right to the full road test. Great job!
@@cw6371 well not everything has a LS engine and not everything is going to have a LS engine. They are a great engine but there are better engines out there like the big block Chevy and LS engines are not the fastest thing on the planet either and they are not cheap to build either
@@cw6371 big block Chevy's in stock form out perform and stock LS engine in a truck and have loads more tourqe. You can get more HP out of a big block Chevy platform. There is no 632 LS engine or 900 CI LS engine. More parts available for big block Chevy and engine combinations more of everything for the big Chevy do I really need to keep going? I have already proved my point. Oh and big Chevy has won more races than a LS has ever won and prolly ever will. It will take a long time to pass up the big block Chevy yuppie boy
the inside is immaculate i own a 1986 p30 chevrolet but mine had a terrible water leakage destroyed quite a bit inside but ill have tolive with it thanks for the video!!!
brake rotors are readily available thru JC Whitney - bought two last summer - P/N 120.67011 you shoulda left it original with the 440-3 - all it probably needed at 120K miles was a timing chain and gears. Factory HP rating on the 440 was 210 and I've read that they're way underated and it was more like 265 and almost 400 ft lbs of torque even at 8.2 compression. My Titan gets about 8mpg.
why so low? the car engines and lite duty trucks got at least 350 HP out of the 440 and the 6 pack was rated at 475~ hp my stock unmoded version 1969 G-coded engine stock is 300 + hp sorry i can't remember the toque numbers right off the top of my head right now . and mopar did make a turbocharged version for " heavy duty " / pumping uses mostly to help pass emissions
Very cool project. Love the old Winnies. I've only seen two that were painted to shine. My '71 Chieftain will get a similar treatment down the road, but the venerable 413 big block still runs strong for now. The old Dodge Motorhome chassis can be a PITA to get parts for. A later model axle & brakes might be a worthwhile swap.
The '78 Allegro my late wife and I used to have could get between 7 and 9 miles per on the highway as long as I kept my foot off the rear bumper of the guy in front of me. That Chevy 454 was really strong and the guy we bought it from had run dual glass paks out just in front of the rear wheels so if I pushed down on it to get around somebody or hit a bad hill the sound was wicked awesome!
My 74 29' Custom gets 7-8 mpg with the 440. Maybe because it's only got 39,000 miles. Very interesting project though. Goodonya for taking it on. - Harold
The problem with the LS swap is the torque on the Chrysler is off idle, and the LS is at 4500 rpm, so you have to hold it by the throat at all times to keep it rolling up hills, and the Overdrive trans will need the rear end gears to be changed to 5.14’s or 5.36’s. Cool deal though. I’m swapping a 502 with the vortec big block heads and EFI / 4l80e trans from a 1998 Chevy van. I can’t wait to see what the mileage will be on the LS compared to a 502 with 600lb ft at 1800 rpm.
I had a client with similar issue with brakes said he used front rotors off of a 2004 3500 4x4 dodge truck. Your Hydra boost is Gm anyway so I would use the Gm pump and bracket. With the a/c I would update the compressor with the newer one you could do it with brass barbs and clamps all a/c hose is standard fitting sizes inside.
Chrylser 440 = 480 ft. Lbs @ 2800rpm... That Ls cant do that at 7000rpm but the reliability and availability of the 6.0 is what makes it make sense. Nice work!
For the rotors, try and see if you can find rotors that will work with that lug pattern. Cause yiou could probably drill out those rivets holding that spacer/adapter and fasten them to new rotors with nuts and bolts
Because with a rebuild, a bunch of other work, youd make similar power get worse gas mileage and still be hooked to a 3spd unlocked auto sounds like a good sound cash effective plan
@Tim Locher Dropping displacement in a large vehicle is never more efficient. You'll have to lay into the throttle so much farther with a small block that it will completely negate any potential efficiency gains. A small block chevy has nowhere near the power potential that a big block Mopar has, only way you can get close to the 440's ball park is with forced induction. And top gear in a Torqueflite is the same ratio as top gear in any other common non overdrive transmission, my 68 Roadrunner with a Torqueflite 3 speed can get 20 plus MPG highway. If power and efficiency are the goals then just rebuild the better motor that the vehicle is already designed for and add a gear vendors overdrive.
@Fuel Injection Sucks Damn you're right, I was under the impression they were more affordable than that. Looked one up and the model for a motorhome 727 is about $4,000.
I would seriously consider throwing a small turbo on that to help with low end torque. That thing is gonna be shifting like crazy especially on big hills or with a strong headwind.
Everyone is over here saying that the 440 is a god, meanwhile my 1973 Winnebago is awaiting an engine swap because that 440 decided to spew its rods on the highway after 33,000 miles.
Make sure you put a truck cam in it. Long tube equal length headers would help as well. Primaries need to be 42" long, I would suggest getting a hold of an Old Headers by Ed catalog, and read the whole thing.
This is awesome! we have a 91 A-class with a TBI 454 I've thought about turboing for extra pulling power and gas mileage. This certainly inspires me to think more seriously about it, also what did you do with the 440? Is it for sale? if so let's exchange info because I'd like to buy it
The 440s in RVs have thicker block and better cooling Jack's around the pistons ? THAT WHAT I have been told . Use to have one but someone stole it !!! Would like to have it back!!!!
My 73 Vette had a 454 with 130k on it before a main bearing went which took out a bunch of other crap so engine was done, I bought a rough 74 Motor home with a 454 with 39,200k on it for $800 that engine is now in my Vette and it runs pretty good for what it is.
Wont get the mpg or torque without the 6.0 intake and fuel injection. A few guys have done 12v cummins in these. The nice thing with the gasser is you dont have to change the rear end gears. That was the biggest hurdle for the diesel swappers because they had to also install a gear vendors OD unit to keep the rpms in check with the diesel or drive slow.
OHH THOSE BRAKE ROTORS That's a first gen dodge brake caliper can tell by the clips they are super famous for caliper clapping over bumps, Im thinkin a D350 500 or 600 will work for rotors order them and try em out worse comes to worst return them you have to pull the adapter off
Youd be suprised with motorhome gas mileage, on the highway of course where most are driven. My dads e450 sunseeker with the modular v10 gets like 12 on the highway, only a few ticks down from my 2000 2500 chevy 6.0. Mostly becuase all that weight keeps the inertia going.
Now the question everybody wants to know is......What are your plans with the 440? If I had the cash, it would go into some light car like a Dodge Dart after a some go fast mods.
would have rebuilt that 440 and put fuel injection in it, would make monster torque compared to little LS motor which what a heavy motorhome needs. But I am sure that 440 in its current state was pretty weak. Interesting swap.
I did some digging looking for rotors, not sure if these are right as the description is a bit vague but it does say they are 8 lug for a RM400 chassis. www.cquence.net/dodge-rm400-1973-premium-oe-replacement-brake-rotors.html I also found this referencing part numbers, if that helps www.mopartruckparts.com/group-05.html Other than that, centric brakes has a part listing for a '73 RM400 chassis as 121.67011 I'll ask around man, see if I can find anything about brakes for this monster. You may just have to find a front axle that's the right width from a truck or something though.
this is neat some one sold a bag of goods here the 440 in motor homes go two or three hounded thousand miles unless there are not taken air of do the new motor specs match the old ?
The smell usually comes from those old frigerators they used to put ammonia in them instead of freon they are very dangerous I found out from my neighbor checking out my old Dodge Midas motorhome he opened the fridge and it about killed him.
Jane Book you say this nonsense that has nothing to back it up yet ls engines are used all over the world in everything not junk ass triton engines or unreliable 5.7 hemi. Ls engines are rock solid easy to get power out of. I’d rather have an ls with high mileage, but my opinion, just like your uninformative opinion. Big blocks in motor homes have no power with all the smog equipment and the heads they use, they’re a joke.
Is that trans in contact with the floor? That seems like it might be loud? Cool build though. Never thought of using an LS in one of those, but that sounds like a good idea.
Would have been so much easier to simply rebuild the 440. Good cam, higher compression, heads and intake. They're torque monsters. The little LS motor is going to suck in that huge boat anchor.
@@DarkLinkAD it idles at 55? At 60 mph with a overdrive trans it will run 2000rpms with a 3 speed with 4.10 gear 2500 at 60 mph. So no it doesn't idle at 55 dumbass
Why is it got that water apart you might as well change the knock sensors and if you're going to change that oil pan I go ahead and change the oil pump
