Dodge charger rt 1974

[TheRTguy]

Hey everyone,  

So I've decided to start my first own car project , I'm buying a half restored charger rt 74 with a stock 440 in it.

My question is I would like to maked a beefy muscle car because that has been a dream of mind but apart from looks I don't know much about motors for this type of cars.

It's possible to put a beefy Supercharger on a 440 ? If so does it have to be a costume shop or is there a pre made kit that fits. 

Also the same guy that sold me the car has a 426 conversion kit and a 426 motor . Do you think is a good buy?

[rocketraider]

Why would a 440 need a supercharger for street use? Plenty of power on demand with a naturally aspirated 440. And contrary to what the TV car shows say, a supercharger or turbocharger needs to be engineered to the engine instead of a generic bolt-on kit, otherwise it will be a cantankerous beast that is no fun to drive.

 

440 over 426 for two reasons: the 440 can make all the power you're ever likely to need and parts are reasonably easy to source. 426 Street Hemi is an ornery high-strung temperamental beast and parts are $$$.

[TheRTguy]

I was 

5 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

Why would a 440 need a supercharger for street use? Plenty of power on demand with a naturally aspirated 440. And contrary to what the TV car shows say, a supercharger or turbocharger needs to be engineered to the engine instead of a generic bolt-on kit, otherwise it will be a cantankerous beast that is no fun to drive.

 

440 over 426 for two reasons: the 440 can make all the power you're ever likely to need and parts are reasonably easy to source. 426 Street Hemi is an ornery temperamental beast and parts are $$$.

I was thinking of supercharging it ,mostly because I wan it to push the 450+ hp mark.

Same reason I was thinking of the 426.

 

[plymouthcranbrook]

If you want to do that and are not terribly concerned with drivability you can go the old fashioned route with a hot cam, higher compression pistons, dual four barrel carbs high discharge ignition and a good set of tuned headers. Porting and polishing the intake and exhaust is helpful as well.  Information on how to do these jobs is easily available and well tested. Adding things like a supercharger or a turbo as rocketrader has said is learn as you go and potentially dangerous and expensive if too much boost occurs too fast.  And with the old school changes you will have a car that will make most of its contemporaries take notice.

Edited December 11, 2021 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[JACK M]

Is the 426 a Hemi or wedge.

Hemis are a lot of fun and don't need a blower. Neither does a good 440 for that matter.

Next step would be to take a look inside of your wallet.

$-HP ratio can go from cruiser to not street friendly.

Are you wanting a driver or a drag racer?

 

Lets see,,,, gas is five bucks and climbing.

[JACK M]

You will probably need to take the transmission into consideration as well.

[joe_padavano]

Your first problem is that you apparently are impressed by peak HP numbers. Unless you are building a drag car with gearing to allow the engine to operate right at the HP peak, that's probably NOT what you want in a street car. You want driveability and a wide, flat torque curve. Lie about the HP numbers if you need to impress your friends.

 

By the way, here's a relatively straightforward 440 build that produces 460 HP and 467 ft-lbs WITHOUT a supercharger or anything exotic.

 

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/mopp-1304-440-mopar-engine-back-to-basics/

[GARY F]

My grandson put a supercharger on his Mustang. Fastest guy to Walmart. But 8 miles per gal??????

[TerryB]

Go this route

https://www.mopar.com/en-us/shop/performance/engine-accessories.html

[TheRTguy]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions , I've decided to go with a well tuned 440 after looking up the suggestions you put and while $ isn't a problem ,I saw that the 426 hemi is kind of problem child that can perform better but is not worth the hassle.