440-3 in a 1973 D20 Brave?

[georgethe painter]

 I just bought a 1973 20' Brave with 44,000 miles. The unit has been sitting for a period of time but is complete and in reasonably good shape but with major roof sag.
   I pulled the dog house and inspected the motor. It has an aftermarket Edlebrock four barrel carburetor and the ignition is located on the front of the motor which indicates a big block motor.
  I was instantly confused as Braves only appear to have come with the 318 power plant. I did some research into the VIN number ( R39CA38099067) and found that it has a 440-3 motor in it according to the fifth digit "A" in the VIN.
  Three questions, why does this Brave have a 440-3 instead of a 318, what does the designation "440-3" indicate as opposed to the "440-1" for instance and what transmission does this have...a 727?
  I have been living on the road on my motorcycle for 16 years until I was forced to slow down due to getting hit by a Peterbuilt...and a bus in the same year. I have had to 'settle down" a bit and am planning on making this Brave ,my home but I want to make sure I know what I own before I start the repair and moving in process. Thanks for you help in advance and thank you for this website which I have found to be a cornucopia of knowledge that I thought would take me endless browsing to find.  "GTP"

[georgethe painter]

...the distributor is located in the front...not the ignition...not enough coffee yet...sorry. "GTP"

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Welcome to the site
The 440-3 was an availble option (pdf page 7 http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1973/pdfs/73-Brave-bro.pdf).  440-3 is the heavy duty industral engine vs the 440-1 car engine.

All Dodge Class A MH chassis uses a 727.

Go to the site store and purchase the 69-77 Service/Parts manual set.  http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;cat=42  Will save you lots of headaches.

Dave

[georgethe painter]

Well thank you very much. I'll take that as good news. Looks like I just have to get it a runnin', pump up the tires and be elbow deep in the project come this weekend! I'm really lookin' forward to livin' in it, so I better get to work! The snow is goin' to be flyin' soon! "GTP"

[LJ-TJ]

  Well I'd say you made the score of the century. Oh! Welcome aboard. With the 440 in a 20footer. She's a dream ride. Use to have a 21footer with a 318 (it burnt) electrical fire.The 440 makes all the difference in the world. Unless I miss my guess your going to have a blast fix'n the old girl up. Your right about this site. The folks here are fantastic. Remember the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

[Dunnohow2]

I have the same model and it is a great vehicle.  there are always plenty of improvements to make and loads of great ideas and support on this site.  It is also reasonably simple to work on - even for an aging grannie like me.  A couple of suggestions: look after your tyres - they are an unusual size and pricey to replace in an emergency like small-town gougeville, let the motor idle for a while after a lengthy drive to let the exhaust manifolds cool down gently.  The right side one is prone to crack but can be cast-welded and conical washers are recommended.  Poke the relief valve on the rear axle every now and then to prevent the oil blowing out the axle seals.  Check the wiring from the dash to the fuse box which is subject to early degeneration.  Remember, once you let the smoke out, the wiring ain't gona work no more! 

Some non-dealer mods i have had to make include: bypassing the converter (having learned about letting the smoke out) and hooked up old computer power units - all of which have one 12vDC outlet, to run the furnace and other 12vDC stuff off of the camp power instead of the battery. replaced the rotting window curtains with that silver bubble wrap held in place with velcro.  It blocks all the light and provides some insulation.  I used Tuck tape before upgrading to hook and loop and shouldn't have bothered - the self stick doesn't.  The brake master cylinder cap is about 0.5" below the floor of the driver's seat and bloody difficult to service/replace so I cut a piece out of the double-skinned floor next to the seat mounting, over the mc attached by a piano hinge.  This took some intricate drilling and use of a reciprocating saw (a cordless one is the best tool to carry ever!) to complete but the time and effort were well spent and servicing, especially brake bleeding is now a breeze.  I refitted the fuse box inside a "Tupperware"-type lidded sandwich box as the old one kept falling off.  Unless you have an inseam > 30", you'll never find the floor headlight dimmer switch but it can be relocated quite a bit nearer.

My "still to do" list keeps growing but makes for a good way to spend your life and keep the grey cells going in trying to adapt cable ties, baling twine and Tuck tape to fix just about anything - rather like Apollo 13.

Good luck and i hope you are still biking.  I have racks (yet to fit) for my ambush of Triumph Tigers.  I'm thinking I'll stow the spare wheel inside and have the lighter bike ('73 650 Tiger) at the front and the heavier one ('07 1050 Tiger) where the spare was.  I expect my "pension" will be just about enough to become a 24/7/365(6) boon docker.

Cheers,
jenni.

[georgethe painter]

Thanks Jenni...valuable information!