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I thought I would give everyone updates on 440source, good or bad depending on how it turns out. I bought a 4.375/4.375 kit from them, AKA 440->528 (55 over) kit. Really it is 526 ci, but they measure everything at a 4.380 bore, so effectively it is rounded up.
I bought thier OEM'ed pistons, crank, rods, C&A gapless rings, and the upgraded bearings. I also got a new dipstick, al water pump and housing. This will be going into a KB AL block that I have on order and will be motor plated. I bought from them because Brandon definately gave me the impression he knows his stuff, no attitude, and is genuinely interested in selling a great product. I took the drive up there (major accident, turned into a 3hr one way trip for me instead of 1.5 hrs) after I got the call from Keith Black that I was now at the top of the list, and did I want the block. Saying yes meant I needed to get pistons down there for them to measure ASAP.
I had done a ton of sims beforehand, and decided to get the 512 kit, as my heads and what I was trying to do would support it better. I should have called though, 'cause they were out of stock until Dec 15th on the 512 and 500 kits. So, disregarding the hours of sims I did, I bought the 528 kit. If I had had more funds, I probably would have had custom 4.5 or 4.6 pistons made, but at that point you have to buy the pistons, the wrist pins, the locks, etc all separate, so the costs really add up. Going with a standard kit really saves some bucks.
As a side note, there was a guy up there with a new Mopar block - judging by the quality of machining that was going on with that thing, I'm really glad I am NOT going Mopar. It just looks like there is going to be too much cleanup to get it to my standards.
I have friends and many contacts throughout the industry, and one of my machine shop friends and I were wondering who's product he OEM's. We took a guess, and it turns out we were correct (at least 99.9% certain). I'm not going to say who's product it is, as that is part of his IP and I totally respect that, only that the crank and rods come from a smaller guy who is known to make some quality product, and the platnium pistons are absolutely a top notch supplier. I wanted to get Ross or JP originally - these are better IMHO.
My stuff is in getting balanced at the moment, so we will see where the bob weights and balancing end up. 2 of my 7.1 inch rods are 1 gram heavier than the other 6, so it shouldn't be any problem to balance that out. The moment of truth will be in a few days when we find out if it does indeed balance out without any mallory. We are checking out everything - Wrist pins, rods, bushings, etc., for diameters, straightness, clearance, weight, etc on the entire assembly.
The Water pump looks good, and the housing looks perfect. Will they work and not leak? I'll have to wait to answer that.
I have no affiliation with 440source other than being a one time customer from them and talking to Brandon at the fall fling. If it is good, I'm gonna say it, and if it sucks - well I'll say that too.
I bought thier OEM'ed pistons, crank, rods, C&A gapless rings, and the upgraded bearings. I also got a new dipstick, al water pump and housing. This will be going into a KB AL block that I have on order and will be motor plated. I bought from them because Brandon definately gave me the impression he knows his stuff, no attitude, and is genuinely interested in selling a great product. I took the drive up there (major accident, turned into a 3hr one way trip for me instead of 1.5 hrs) after I got the call from Keith Black that I was now at the top of the list, and did I want the block. Saying yes meant I needed to get pistons down there for them to measure ASAP.
I had done a ton of sims beforehand, and decided to get the 512 kit, as my heads and what I was trying to do would support it better. I should have called though, 'cause they were out of stock until Dec 15th on the 512 and 500 kits. So, disregarding the hours of sims I did, I bought the 528 kit. If I had had more funds, I probably would have had custom 4.5 or 4.6 pistons made, but at that point you have to buy the pistons, the wrist pins, the locks, etc all separate, so the costs really add up. Going with a standard kit really saves some bucks.
As a side note, there was a guy up there with a new Mopar block - judging by the quality of machining that was going on with that thing, I'm really glad I am NOT going Mopar. It just looks like there is going to be too much cleanup to get it to my standards.
I have friends and many contacts throughout the industry, and one of my machine shop friends and I were wondering who's product he OEM's. We took a guess, and it turns out we were correct (at least 99.9% certain). I'm not going to say who's product it is, as that is part of his IP and I totally respect that, only that the crank and rods come from a smaller guy who is known to make some quality product, and the platnium pistons are absolutely a top notch supplier. I wanted to get Ross or JP originally - these are better IMHO.
My stuff is in getting balanced at the moment, so we will see where the bob weights and balancing end up. 2 of my 7.1 inch rods are 1 gram heavier than the other 6, so it shouldn't be any problem to balance that out. The moment of truth will be in a few days when we find out if it does indeed balance out without any mallory. We are checking out everything - Wrist pins, rods, bushings, etc., for diameters, straightness, clearance, weight, etc on the entire assembly.
The Water pump looks good, and the housing looks perfect. Will they work and not leak? I'll have to wait to answer that.
I have no affiliation with 440source other than being a one time customer from them and talking to Brandon at the fall fling. If it is good, I'm gonna say it, and if it sucks - well I'll say that too.
