Hi Johnny, It's been a while and I just signed up on "answerbag" and saw your question has gone unanswered. From what I gathered in the past 10 minutes on line, it appears your 440 is of the 1973 to 1978 vintage. You gave number 36968304408. The listing I got has number 3698830440, no "8" at the end, plus the "88" vs the "68" in your number. I'm guessing you may have mistaken the 8 for a 6, due to dirt on the block or bad lighting, etc. Common sense tells me that 440 is the cubic inch displacement and the 8 at the end probably means 8 cylinders. No detail in the didget breakdown of the numbers in question were given - unfortunately. So, I can't tell you what the first 7 numbers (3696830 or 3698830) mean. I thought the date code was in there, but it just doesn't jive as there'd have to be a 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, or a 78 to indicate the year. As you can see in either case, none of these are present. However, from my experience in MOPAR engines, the 440 was rated as follows. Introduced in 1966 to replace the 426 wedge motor it was rated at 350 horse power with a small Holly Carburetor on it. Later 66s and all '67s through I think 1971s used the Carter AVS which was rated at 750 cfm (bigger than the Holly which was probably a 600 cfm unit) After 1970 or maybe in 1971 the compression ratios were dropped down to conform to government regulations concerning emissions. The Carter ThermoQuad may have been introduced on the 440 in 71 or '72, I'm not sure. Regardless, by 1972 for sure the compression ratios were down into the low 9s or even to 8.5 to one, down from around 10 to 10.50 to 1 cr from '66 until 70/1971. During 1967 to 1970/'71 until the drop in compression in 1972, the 440 was rated at 375 horse power and 480 foot pounds of torque. With the drop in compression the 440 lost about 100 horsepower, so I'd suspect your engine in stock form to be at ~275 horse power and somewhat lesser torque also, maybe 450 ft pounds -- as the compression drop didn't effect the torque ratios as drastically as it did the horse power. The heads are important if you decide to up the compression ratio. in the casting number on the valve cover side of the heads in the rocker valley look for the numbers 452 or 346. These heads have the hardened exhaust valve seats for unleaded fuel useage. The older 906 heads were used on the earlier, pre-emissions 440s. NOTE: You can still use the 906 heads without hardened valve seats,BUT YOU HAVE TO ADD ABOUT 6-8 OUNCES OF MARVEL MYSTERY OIL TO THE GAS TANK AT EVERY FILL-UP. This supplies the valve-seat lubricant that was removed when the country went to all unleaded gasoline. I use this technique in my high revving 289 HiPo FORD engine with 1969, 351W heads on it and I have had no problem with valve seat wear since 1983. Beter late than never! -- Ralphi MRReardon2@aol.com

Last 4 digits mean it's a 440 and the 8 is the number of changes made to original cast when engine was designed. Go to 440source.com, click on blocks. There is a link in there that will give you all that info.