79 winnebago 440 specs?

[dave571]

I was under a 79 winnebago on sunday.

Has a 440 steel crank motor.

Does anyone have compression, output, cam, specs etc for this motor?

I doubt the compression is much, but was surprised to see the steel crank dampener on it. Leads me to believe the motor to be a hd truck type of engine.

I'm familiar with pretty much all the info on a 78 cast crank motor, but this is the first one of these I've actually seen.

Not looking to hot rod the motor, just wondering how such a unit would be for towing.

Thanks for any input.

[Fishlips 24]

she could tow up to 5000 lbs

[John Kunkel]

It's pretty unlikely that any '79 440 left the plant with a steel crank, what's stamped in the data pad in front of the intake manifold? If it is stamped 9T440TE it originally had a cast crank, if the crank was changed it's hard to say what other internal mods were made.

[cudabob496]

If its the same Winnebago that was in "Space Balls", that engine should get you to Warp 3!!!

[dave5711]

Wow, talk about digging up a 3 year old thread.

I since bought a 73 with a steel crank 440. It's a great tow rig.

Better fuel economy than my 440 pickup got, and pretty decent power. I pass the semi's on the big hills so I can't complain.

[ehostler]

[TK]

Originally Posted by dave5711

Wow, talk about digging up a 3 year old thread.

I since bought a 73 with a steel crank 440. It's a great tow rig.

Better fuel economy than my 440 pickup got, and pretty decent power. I pass the semi's on the big hills so I can't complain.

I hope you can pass a semi..........

[bulldog426]

i didn't think they made big blocks in 79, i thought 78 was the last year and i think the last year for forged cranks was 71, if i'm not mistaking. and a 78 had really low compression, and only like 190hp.

[cudabob496]

Originally Posted by ehostler

How big of a carb do I need to achieve ludicrous speed?

[Rug_Trucker]

My owners manual for my van has the 440 listed, '79.

[TK]

Originally Posted by cudabob496

How big of a carb do I need to achieve ludicrous speed?

Thermoquad, X pipe, dual pattern cam, and X, J, or U heads.... You also want to get a cop car torsion bar to handle the faster speeds.....


welcome, anytime.

[bulldog426]

Originally Posted by TK

Thermoquad, X pipe, dual pattern cam, and X, J, or U heads.... You also want to get a cop car torsion bar to handle the faster speeds.....


welcome, anytime.

don't forget the dual turbos with triple coonooter valve wastegates, and the nitrous oxide fuel injection...

[ehostler]

Just A thermoquad??? I think that beast would need a custom quad quad setup. Then you would probably need a quad turbo setup.

[Rug_Trucker]

All joking aside.........did you know that some MH 440's came with a turbo and Thermoquad?

[TK]

Never seen one, but i have seen the 390 Ford motorhomes with the turbo.

[dave5711]

The 440 winni turbo kits do pop up on ebag ocasionally. I think there is a place on line that has horded a bunch of them, so they can still be bought.

On mine, I yanked the TQ, and put on a 625 road demon using a 69 manifold.

The heads on this motor are different, and use the smaller plug and have positive valve rotators.

As said, I love it. It pulls the car beauty, and has room in for all of us

[dave5711]

Originally Posted by bulldog426

i didn't think they made big blocks in 79, i thought 78 was the last year and i think the last year for forged cranks was 71, if i'm not mistaking. and a 78 had really low compression, and only like 190hp.

I question the accuracy of the reference material when it comes to motor homes.

The class A winni chassis was on the truck chassis, that came BEFORE the 72 model change.

Earlier motor homes did get the 413 industrial truck motor, while later ones got the 440 with the bigger heads with more cooling.

I have crawled under several of these 440 class A winni's, and have never seen one that had a cast crank ballancer on it, regardless of year.
The Class C or "minni winni" (van front style) did come with cast crank 440's.

My own theory is that the class A winni's got a medium truck engine and chassis, which is why they didn't get the regular cast crank Passenger motor.

As for power, a low speed motor doesn't need compression to make torque. I used to tow with a 440 that I thought was 9:1. It towed very well (including passing more modern diesels on mountain roads while towing) It would ping sometimes when towing on a hot day, no matter where I set the timing. I later tore down the motor to find it was barely over 8:1.

I don't doubt for 1 second thatt he compression in my winni motor is very low. BUT the power comes from the cylinder charge it is able to achieve with a cam that is matched to low speed operation.

[Rug_Trucker]

That thing is airdynamic as a shoe box!

[ehostler]

So, are you saying that the Eagle 5 (pictured above) has a cast crank?

On the compression and torque, the right cam makes all the difference. Low compression needs a cam with less overlap.

[dave5711]

No I'm saying the 440 in this 73 class a winni, has a forged crank, and the heads have extra cooling pasages, and positive valve rotators.

I'm also saying, prior to buying this one, I had looked at about 6 other winni's this style varying in year from 73 to 79. Regardless of year, they all seemed to have a forged crank. (going by balancer, and converter weights)

I've seen(and owned) Class C's with cast crank motors

[bulldog426]

the 78 440 i have came out of one of those big winnis, and it has a cast crank...

[Rug_Trucker]

There is a 440 turbo on Moparts right now in the BB engines for sale!