A 1973 Dodge Charger brochure shows a red Charger in motion on the left, three Charger models in the center, and detailed vehicle specs with a car engine illustration on the right.

Mopar’s® 440 Big Block: An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove! – Part 3, 1973-1978

By DodgeGarage 04/01/2026 07:03 AM
Heritage
6 min read
Dodge Classics

As we enter the final chapter of our “Mopar’s® 440 Big Block: An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove” series, we take a close look at the slow demise of this once mighty engine. Born in the midst of the muscle car era, the 440 quickly established a reputation as a force to be reckoned with when it was under the hood of the Dodge Coronet R/T and the Plymouth GTX. By the end of the 1960s, the 440 Six Pack/Six Barrel made this already mighty powerhouse even more potent, offering HEMI®-like performance on an affordable budget. When the 440 entered the 1970s, it was swinging hard and punching above its weight. It was now motivating the new Challenger and redesigned ’Cuda while more sedate and tamed down 440 big blocks were powering luxury barges like the Chrysler Imperial and New Yorker, along with the Dodge and Plymouth full-figured machines like Monaco, Polara, Fury and Sport Fury GT.

A vintage brochure shows two green Plymouth cars parked in front of a large house with arches; the opposite page details engine specifications with text and a black-and-white image of a car engine.

While the 1970s got off on the right foot, it was short lived. Like a drunken late-night bender, the hangover would be as harsh as 1972. It smacked the 440 (and all the engines) with a major drop in compression ratios and horsepower output. This was a reality check for the marketing gurus at the Dodge and Plymouth divisions that gave us the Scat Pack and Rapid Transit System a year earlier. Avid readers of DodgeGarage read our Part 2, 1970-1972 segment and how we discussed the looming emission standards by the EPA and how it would take its toll on the 440. By 1973, things began to get worse as the engine’s horsepower began to sink like a rock. New for 1973 were the use of charcoal canisters and the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system that helped reduce hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Many of these emission control devices, including many feet of black rubber vacuum hoses, snaked their way all over the engine compartment. In 1974, all this and more carried over to much of Chrysler’s engines. There was also a redesigned air cleaner for 1974 that had oval snorkel openings to help mitigate air intake noise.

A close-up view of a classic car engine bay, featuring a prominently labeled 440 Four Barrel air cleaner, surrounded by various hoses, wires, and engine components inside a blue vehicle.

Regardless, the 440 HP (High-Performance) was still available, and it still had some go-fast internal bits such as the camshaft and valve springs, carried over from its muscle car Magnum era of the late 1960s. Unfortunately, 1974 was also the last year the hot 440 was available in Charger and Satellite/Road Runner models. Its horsepower had dropped to 275, but it still had the torque to burn the tires. Sales once again were down as consumers shielded away from big-block muscle cars. The government was now mandating CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) Standards, and once again, there was shuffling among the engine offerings; the 440 was in the gunsights of the EPA. Enacted by Congress in 1975 due to the upheaval of the 1973 oil embargo, CAFE was created by the government to mandate minimum average fuel efficiency among the automakers’ fleet and entice them to make more fuel efficient vehicles.

A catalog page details Plymouth V-8 car engines, listing specs for 400 and 440 cubic inch 4-barrel V-8 engines. On the right, there’s an illustration of a black and silver 440 V-8 engine on a blue background.

There was another bombshell that hit the auto industry in 1975 when car companies were required to use catalytic converters on passenger cars. Along with the increasing use of unleaded fuel, the catalytic converter was another step in making the internal combustion engine run cleaner, especially on cold starts when the air-fuel mixture is very rich. Designed to create a combustion-type reaction by heating up unspent exhaust gasses for a cleaner burn, the catalytic converter had good intensions, but it hurt performance bigtime. As a cost-cutting measure, both the 440 and 400 big block engines had their forged steel crankshaft replaced with a cheaper cast iron style. The cylinder heads were also changed to the new “452” casting that had flame-hardened exhaust valve seats due to the use of unleaded fuel and to reduce wear in the chamber.

A vintage advertisement features a Dodge Monaco police car labeled “County Sheriff,” parked with two officers—one inside and one on a motorcycle nearby. The ad text and car specifications fill the rest of the page.

Again, the 440 big block took another hit in horsepower for the 1975 model year as it was down to a measly 215 horsepower in the standard layout for the full-size car line. The 440 HP was now relegated to police cars only and its output was reduced as it hovered around 255 to 240 net horsepower. Depending on if it had the 49-state emissions package or California’s much stricter requirements that straddle the 440 with even more power-robbing smog equipment. Still, the 440 in the Dodge Monaco and Plymouth Fury remained the pursuit car of choice among major law enforcement and government agencies, including many State Police departments across the country.

A white vintage car is parked on a brick driveway in front of an ivy-covered mansion. Two people are talking near the entrance under a lit archway. Lush green grass and trees surround the scene.

For the balance of the 1970s, the 440 big block lumbered on in massive luxury land yachts and police vehicles. It also found a home in the Dodge Ramcharger and Plymouth Trail Duster Sport Utility Vehicles. Despite the product planners’ best efforts to give the 440 a new life in other applications such as RVs, trucks, marine and industrial applications, it was like swimming upstream. The timing to kill off the 440 was ramped up as Chrysler’s financial woes continued due to the influx of low-cost imported Japanese cars that saturated the market during the mid-to-late-1970s. Chrysler’s import fighters, the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon, would soon be launched, and once again, the Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge lineup would be completely revamped before 1980. Unfortunately, the 440 and 400 were not invited to the new decade.  

Black-and-white brochure with front side and rear side views of a Dodge Ramcharger SUV, plus a close-up of the all-wheel lever and descriptive text about features and off-road capabilities.

It may sound like a sad tale, but it has a happy ending. The 440 was made in such large quantities during its production, it’s still the powerplant of choice for street enthusiasts and drag racers. With plentiful core items like blocks, cranks and heads, and a high-performance aftermarket parts industry catering to this engine with go-fast goodies like aluminum intake manifolds, high-lift cams and other pieces that increase horsepower, the 440 is as popular now as ever. The final big block may have come down Chrysler’s Trenton Engine plant in late 1978, but it still lives on decades later as Chrysler’s Big Block bruiser that still motivates muscle cars to A-body grassroots bracket racers.

A bright green classic muscle car lifts its front wheels off the ground while launching down a drag strip, with spectators and other cars visible in the background.

Before we close out this series, check out these pics showcasing a variety of production vehicles the 440 powered during the mid-to-late 1970s.   

Two 1977 police car brochures: one for Dodge, showing two officers beside a parked police car in daylight, and one for Plymouth, featuring a police car driving at night with its lights flashing.
A 1974 Plymouth Satellite lineup chart with photos and silhouettes of different models, showing exterior and trim differences among Satellite, Road Runner, and Sebring coupes, sedans, and wagons with comparison details.
A vintage brochure spread shows four 1974 Dodge Charger cars in various models on the left, with specs and a V8 engine image on the right, all on a light green background.
A vintage Dodge Ramcharger brochure page featuring two illustrations of the SUV, specifications, and a close-up image of the shift lever, all set on a pink background with descriptive text.
A vintage green 1973 Plymouth Fury Gran Sedan is parked on the lawn in front of a large white house, where people are dressed formally and socializing near a banquet table.
Black-and-white image showing two cars: a 1973 Plymouth Road Runner coupe (top) and a Plymouth Satellite Custom 4-door sedan (bottom), both displayed in profile against a plain background.
A vintage brochure page shows illustrations of three 1973 Dodge cars: Polara 2-door hardtop, Polara Custom 4-door sedan, and Monaco 4-door hardtop, with a chart listing available body styles.
A vintage advertisement shows a green 1970s Dodge Polara parked on grass next to an antique car, with trees and a field in the background. Text below lists Polara, Polara Custom, Monaco and POLARA/MONACO.
Two vintage Chrysler Imperial cars, one green with a black top parked on grass by a small shed, the other brown with a white top parked by a stone wall, with a man and child looking through a window.
A vintage brown 1973 Chrysler New Yorker car parked on grass near a white fence, with a barn and trees in the background at sunset.
A vintage two-door Plymouth SUV with a brown and beige exterior is parked on grass near a river, with a stone bridge and trees in the background at sunset.
A white vintage two-door car is parked on a rocky landscape at sunset, with mountains and a dramatic sky in the background.
A woman in a white dress stands next to a brown vintage two-door luxury car with a vinyl roof, set against a dark background.
A vintage blue 1975 car is parked on a driveway in front of a wrought iron gate, with trees and a brick pillar in the background. The car has a boxy shape and chrome details.

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