Thread: 383 or 440?

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I have a 440 in a '66 charger that had a 361 originally. Granted, a 383 can be built to have respectable power but as stated earlier, for the same amount of money you can have a 440 done that will out perform it. I'll always be loyal to the 440. The greatest engine, in my opinion, that can be purchased for a respectable price. If your friend has a 440 available go for it and he'll be very happy he did. If he wants it stock, which it doesn't sound like he does, then this what's the point of this thread.

Every single 1968-up 383 has the same heads as every single 1968-up 440. All the 1968-70 engines used the "906" casting; all the 1971 engines used the universally-hated "346" head (also used on 440s through '73 and 400s from '71-'73). "Commando", "Super Commando", "TNT" and "Magnum" all used the same heads as the bread-and-butter 2-barrel motors. All 1966, and non-HP 1967 440s share the same head as the 1965-67 383s, which is the closed-chamber, small-valve "516". 1967 440s used the "915" head, which is a closed-chamber HP version of the 516 with better ports and larger exhaust valves (1.74" versus 1.60").

Yes, you can spin the nads off a 383, but it actually has a shorter stroke than a 360 so the torque is lacking. Having been in that position, I forsook the 383 for the 440's greater cubes, and never had a problem shifting a stock bottom end (including stock oil pump and pickup) at 6,800RPM.

They cost the same to build... dollar for dollar, he'll see way more power and torque from a 440.