The Last Chryslers Blessed With The 440 Big Block Under The Hood

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Many Boomers can't stop talking about the muscle car era of their youth, but honestly, who can blame them. Americans were spoiled for choice as manufacturers stuffed increasingly large V8s into their cars and painted the results in retina-searing bright colors. Mopar was no exception. It put its 440-cubic-inch V8 in everything from Barracudas with billboard stripes proudly declaring how many cubic inches lived in the engine bay to Coronets with massive hood scoops. 

But good things don't last, and the excesses of the muscle car era were tamped down in the early 1970s by a trifecta of emission regulations, oil shortages, and rising insurance costs for performance cars. Unlike the 426-cubic-inch Hemis, though, which only ran from 1966 to 1971, the 440 soldiered on through the malaise era. By the time 1978 rolled around, the only Mopar cars available with the 440 were the full-size Chrysler Newport and the similar, but longer and more opulent, New Yorker Brougham. In '78, Trucks like the Plymouth Trail Duster and the Dodge D150 could still be equipped with a 440. And after 1978, the 440 Mopar was no more.

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To put it simply, the 440 is the biggest production V8 Mopar ever made. An engine with more displacement generally makes more power than a smaller engine. Of course, technological advancements like turbocharging and the switch from port injection to direct injection help smaller engines make up for the lack of displacement.  But there's a reason why the adage, "There's no replacement for displacement," has long been a rallying cry for hotrodders. 

The 440, which is a member of Mopar's RB engine family, showed up in engine bays starting in 1966. Initially, it made 350 horsepower, but output steadily climbed throughout the muscle car era. Horsepower peaked with the Dodge Six Pack and Plymouth Six Barrel engines that, with help from a trio of two-barrel Holley carbs, made a healthy 390 hp and 490 pound-feet of torque. The power peak didn't last long, and due to emissions regulations brought on by the Clean Air Act of 1970, the 440's output steadily decreased starting in 1972. By 1978, the last year of the 440's production run, it made a paltry 195 horsepower when equipped in a Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. 

For hotrodders, 440s are an excellent value proposition. Despite its outsized reputation, Mopar only made around 11,000 of its legendary 426-cubic-inch street Hemi engines. As such, when a 426 Hemi does come up for sale, it ain't cheap. The 440 had a longer production run, therefore, it is much easier to find and more affordable. Plus, the hottest versions of the 440 were within spitting distance of the Hemi's 425 hp. And, as MotorTrend proved, even a low-output 440 harvested from a motorhome can surpass a stock Hemi with the right smattering of aftermarket parts. 

The downfall of the 440's performance happened because a confluence of factors, starting with The Clean Air Act of 1970. The bill gave the government power to regulate tailpipe emissions, and in order to combat the growing smog problem in America's cities, automakers were required to cut emissions in half by 1975. Manufacturers accomplished this by retarding timing, leaning out air-fuel mixtures, and dropping compression ratios. The result was a big drop in power. Also, insurance carriers starting slapping massive premiums on muscle cars, causing manufacturers to only offer the big engines in their larger, more luxurious models. And, of course, the 1973 oil crisis caused fuel prices to soar and consumers to look toward more efficient vehicles. Circumstances were so dire, that in some extreme cases, people started riding horses on the highway. 

Big boats like the Chrysler New Yorker Brougham were the only cars that could still justify a big-block. Luxury buyers still expected a big V8, and the type of person that could spend $7,831 (for comparison, the compact Plymouth Horizon cost roughly half as much) wasn't as bothered by the increased running costs as a young person looking for cheap speed. Even so, the writing was on the wall for the 440. Ever-tightening emissions requirements meant that a giant V8 that got 10 mpg on a good day would not survive into the 1980s.