Chrysler 440 V8 Engine

In the mid 60s the muscle car battle between the Big Three automotive manufactures was getting heavy. With the success of the Chevrolet 409, GM was planning to unveil the 427 for the 1966 model year. Ford had already released their 427 in 1965 to do battle with the already very popular Chrysler 426. So Chrysler decided to raise the bar another notch to fight the competition by developing the 440 V8 engine for 1966.

The Chrysler 440 V8 engine was built from 1966 to 1978 and was the last of the Mopar engines that were over 400 cubic inches. The 440 was definitely not as powerful as the 426 HEMI but considering it could be purchased for half the price of a HEMI there were a lot of buyers ready to purchase this Mopar powerhouse.

From 1969 to 1971 the 440 got even better with the introduction of the “six pack” carburetor setup. This setup was 3 dual carburetors that were designed so that the center carb fed the engine when cruising down the road and then when the customer really wanted the extra power they could simply stomp down on the gas and the other 2 carbs would open up and give the engine everything it needed. This allowed the car owner to get better gas mileage on the highway as well as maximum performance at the drag strip. The “six pack” setup pushed the horsepower up to 390 and was used in many of the most popular Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars of the late 60s and early 70s. This included the Dodge Super Bee, Plymouth Road Runner as well as the Plymouth Sport Fury GT.

Engine Specifications