351W stroker kit (needing opinions)

Please don't reply with "427; since bigger is better". Put some thought into it, or tell me about the kit you've run if you have one.

408 is the best performing setup. The most economical is the 393 which is a 302 piston, 351w rod, and custom stroke crank.

The biggest thing for any stroker is heads. If your going to put a stock or small head on a stroker you will not have very much top end. Granted you will have more low end torque, but it will run out of breath very early. IMO for a 351w based stroker I wouldn't run anything smaller than a 200cc intake port volume like the AFR 205s or Edelbrock Victor Jrs. You might get might be all right with an AFR185 on a 393 setup since you don't want to run it to hard. Of course the other downfall is gas milage. Adding another 50 cid will make a moticable hit on the mpg, and it will be really crappy at first since you won't be able to keep your foot off the floor. :)

I have a CHP 347 kit and I have been very happy with it. Scat makes good stuff as well so I don't think you'll go wrong either way.

MadDAWG

I found my cfm vs. cid chart

For example my Performer 5.0 heads flow 230 at 600 lift. So at 302 cid they are maxed out at 6844 rpm, at 351 cid it drops to 5678rpm, and at 408 its down to 5111 rpm. Thats not to say you won't pull more rpm, but after that point you won't make any more power. To spin a 408 upto 6500 you would need at the very least 295 cfm from the head and then it would be maxed out. So I guess it all comes down to how much do you have to spend.

MadDAWG

The 408 is probably the best performing stroker available. It's about the most displacement you can get and still run more than 6500 rpm's. I think Coast High Performance has one of the best reputations.

I have two friends runing the 408 stroker's. One of them is running a 76mm turbo on it (I think it is 76). The other one is running a T64 on it.

They are incredible engine's and get driven to the track almost 30 miles when they run them. Otherwise, they are using them on the streets.

Don Manning

This would be

"MadDAWG" wrote

There's a difference between stock 302 and 351W pistons?

Yes, the compression height of the 302 slug is shorter, and it works out close to the deck with a 3.85" crank.

"CobraJet" wrote

So the only *non-stock* item I would need to make a 396 is the crank? I can use new 302 pistons and the rods that are already in the motor?

"66 6F HCS" wrote

Let me clarify: to make a 396 stroker out of my 351W. All I need is standard 302 pistons with the standard 351W rods I already have in the motor, and either the Scat or CHP 396 stroker crank. Is that correct?

I'm going to build a 427W later this summer for my '89 LX. IMO, it doesn't make sense to install a 351W engine and not stoke it. I'm going to buy a stroker kit and find a used block and have a local machine shop do the work. This is about the only way I can know it will be done right. It doesn't matter what major engine builder or parts company you use because they all have people praising and complaining about them. I'm going to roll the dice with a good local builder. At least I know where to go if there is a problem.

66 6F HCS wrote:

Thass ryte. If it's just a low-rev transpo motor, you don't really even need forged pistons.

Whoa!! My friend has a T76 on his lightning with a stock GT40 351W. I know how fast that truck is and I can only imagine what a mustang with a

408 and a 76 mm turbo would be like. That must be a hell of a ride. Erik D. '94 white lightning

Indeed it is. Running conservative, he was getting high 9's, low 10's. He feels like there is a 9 flat in it somewhere.

Don Manning

First its 393 not that darn chevy motor! lol

The only thing you have to watch out for is you'll want a deep dished 302 piston to keep your compression ratio down. IIRC if you have a 60cc head you'll need around a 24cc dish to keep it around 10.5:1. If its a mild motor a set of the Roush 200/Windsor Sr. heads with the 69cc chamber will make piston selection easier.

Another thing to keep in mind is most stroker cranks will need to be balanced.

MadDAWG

Yeah, I slipped on that one after doing a bit more research.

Yeah, I called FRPP yesterday and was told flat out that I'd blow up the motor if I ran flat tops. :) They suggested Ford Part #M-6108-C392 302 piston with 15cc dish and AFR 185 heads.

FRPP suggested the AFR's, but I did look at the Roush/Windsor Sr. heads. I was concerned that the intake port volume would be too big at 210. I asked FRPP about AFR 205's and they said that unless I was wanting to run a high RPM motor that I'd be wasting the money on the bigger port volume. The tech guy ran the compression numbers and said I'd be at 10.1:1 with the AFR 185's and the FRPP dished pistons including the head gasket. I think he did the calc with 392cid instead if 393cid though. I did the displacement calc and it's really just under 393, but not 392.

Most definitely. I've got an engine builder I trust with all that. He just finished a hot little 302 (now 310) that we dropped into the 'Chero.

Correction: The runners are 200, not 210.

"MadDAWG" wrote

I checked again on the Windsor Sr. and Roush heads, they're both 64cc chamber heads with 200 intake runners. The AFR 185's are 61cc combustion chambers and the other head I was looking at is the FRPP GT-40X head which is a 64cc chamber, but doesn't flow as well as either of the other two. Intake ports on the Ford head is 170 and they flow 30cfm less on intake and

20 less on the exhaust. I'm not looking to build a high revving motor, so I don't think that will matter much. Plus the Ford heads are $200 cheaper.

Some mo' ideas:

Of course, after you do all the figgering on a stroker, it become evident that building a hot 390 FE is cheaper. The stock ports are bigger than Windsors, or you can use these:

CobraJet

"CobraJet" wrote

I saw those earlier this week. Thanks for the link though.

But then I gotta start totally from scratch. At least with the stroker I already have the block, the rods, the intake and the carb and could use the '69 351W heads if I had to. Although they wouldn't flow the greatest and the compression would take a bump upwards. All I'd need to buy is the crank and the pistons. CHP has the 393 crank for only $220. Pistons would be in the $300-400 range through the local jobber. If I'm gonna do a stroker I need to do it now while the block is out of the car and worry about upgrading the top end later. As long as I use at least a 15cc dish piston I'll be OK with the CR.