'Of all the classic Detroit Super Stock engines, the '62-'64 Mopar Max Wedge is the wildest of the bunch. Say what you want about "real fine" 409s, High-Riser Ford 427s, Super Duty Pontiac 421s, and the like. None can match the sheer visual impact of the 413/426 Max Wedge. With that crazy cross-ram intake manifold and those beautiful upswept exhaust manifolds, it's a surefire party starter in both the looks and performance departments. But the big problem with the original Max Wedge cross-ram intake manifold is that it was part of a factory-matched system that also included big-port heads-some 20 percent larger than standard passenger-car big-block wedge stuff.
We followed Editor Glad's...
We followed Editor Glad's tip and yanked this standard-bore 440 from a '77 Dodge motorhome he saw at the Riverside, California, Pick-A-Part. The total price for everything shown here was $163.44. In recent weeks we've spotted eight more 440-powered motorhomes at the various L.A.-area Pick-A-Parts. The block bears casting number 400663-440-9 and a 10-18-77 casting date.
So let's say you score an original Max Wedge cross-ram manifold at the swap meet. If you're lucky and have superdeep pockets, you can search out a set of matching original Max Wedge heads, which wear casting number 2402286 ('62 413), 2463209 ('63 Stage II 426), or 2406518 (late '63-'64 Stage III 426). Just make sure they're not full of cracks and repairs, which most are, some four decades from new. And yes, there are a number of brand-new big-port Max Wedge-style head castings from Mopar Performance, Indy Cylinder Head, and others that'll accept the cross-ram with no hassle. All it takes is money.
But what if you're one of the huddled masses with a run-of-the-mill raised-deck 413, 426, or 440 RB passenger-car wedge and you just want the look? Your non-Maxie head castings are no match (literally) for the cross-ram. Oh, sure, over the last four decades guys have tried bolting the original cross-ram onto basic 516, 915, 906, 346, and 452 big-block wedge heads, and yes, it does fit. But the massive port mismatch yields a power-snuffing flow disturbance, and the dead-end exhaust-heat crossover passages are prone to leakage unless they're plugged with molten aluminum, steel shim gaskets, or other Band-Aids.
Big-blocks built after 1973...
Big-blocks built after 1973 have cast-iron crankshafts and are externally balanced. The correct externally balanced damper must be used. After steel abrading, ours looked like new, and since the inner hub was still perfectly aligned with the TDC marker in the outer ring, we reused it. At the other end of the crank a scalloped B&M flexplate is necessary.
But now those problems are solved thanks to Rick Allison and the guys at A&A Transmission, who have just released a picture-perfect reproduction Max Wedge cross-ram-with a twist. It has smaller passenger-car-sized intake runners in place of the sewer-sized Max Wedge openings. That means it'll bolt right up to any non-Max big-block wedge head. It's a true breakthrough that opens the door for anybody with a 413, 426, or 440 Mopar to run a cross-ram with no need to swap heads.
We scored one and had Joe Jill and the crew at Superior Automotive stick it on a budget-oriented cast crank 440 we pulled from a '78 Dodge motorhome. With 9.75:1 compression, a mild hydraulic cam, box-stock Edelbrock 500s, and light bowl blending on the motorhome heads, we got 436.9 hp at 5,500 rpm and 491.2 lb-ft of torque at 4,100 rpm on 91-octane unleaded pump gas.
We're not saying the combination shown here trumps the original 426 Max Wedge's 13.5:1 compression ratio, dual 750-cfm Carter AFBs, 0.520-lift solid cam, larger exhaust valves, and 20-percent-larger port volumes. That would defy logic, and at a supposed 425 hp at 5,600 rpm (and 480 lb-ft at 4,400 rpm), those things were intentionally underrated by at least 50 hp to fool the competition. But with a whopping 465 lb-ft way down at 3,000 rpm, it appears the A&A cross-ram's reduced runner volume complements any standard-port big-block head and does wonders for low- and midrange torque output. This isn't just a showoff piece; it really works. Best of all, for under $7,000 we got the look-and most of the power-of the mighty Max Wedge.
Tech Specs
Displacement: 446 ci (with 0.030 overbore)
Horsepower: 436.9 @ 5,500 rpm
Torque: 491.2-lb/ft @ 4,100 rpm
Compression ratio: 9.75:1
Bore/stroke: 4.350 x 3.750 (with 0.030 overbore)
Maximum safe engine speed: 6,500 rpm
Recommended shift point: 6,000 rpm
 It used to be that beefy 908...  It used to be that beefy 908 '70-'72 Six Pack rods (foreground) were the hot ticket. After all, bigger is better, right? Not when they add 100 grams of reciprocating mass each. While original Max Wedge 886 rods offer the best OE strength-to-mass compromise and there are plenty of aftermarket upgrades available, the stock forged-steel 535 rods are safe up to 600 hp in a stock-stroke budget setting like this. At a weight of 830.8 grams (versus the Six Pack's 930.8 grams) Superior Magnafluxed each rod, fitted high-strength ARP fasteners, then resized them. Beam polishing was deemed unnecessary for this fairly mild, 6,500-rpm application. |  Block prep consisted of a...  Block prep consisted of a 0.030 overbore and 0.006 deck job on Superior's Rottler F-67A CNC boring machine. Final honing was done on a Rottler HP6A honing machine using BHJ 131/44 torque plates. The oil pickup tube boss was enlarged from 31/48 to 11/42 inch to accept the Milodon pickup tube and ensure safe oiling up to 7,000 rpm. |  The conventional wisdom is...  The conventional wisdom is that 440-blocks cast after 1974 are nonrebuildable, paper-thin junk. Don't believe a word of it. With an NDT Systems CB110 Sidewinder sonic checker, the walls showed an average thickness of 0.275 inch. Generally a reading of 0.125 and above is acceptable. What's more, the deck thickness was a beefy 0.485. For comparison, we also checked a virgin '62-vintage 413 passenger-car (non-Max) block and discovered the '77 440-block (casting number 400663-440-9) to be thicker in every respect. |