To stroke, or not to stroke.....

[liljon285]

Hey everyone, i just got a great deal from my dad. He wants me to give him my 305c.i. and my th350 and hell get me a 350 and a 700r4 tranny. Now the tranny will be rebuilt and ready to put in but the 350 will be asking for a build. Now i was thinking should i stroke the 350 to a 383? I want to do it so bad but im 16 amd money isnt very great.My goal is 405 hp to the flywheel, and under $2200. I just need to go very cheap and a lot of horsepower. Now I checked a stroker kit in summit and it was about $1100 (brings new cast 3.75" stroke cranks, summit stage 2 rods, keith black pistons, sealed power rings, clevite chamfered bearings, sealed power gaskets and a melling oil pump.) Now I talked to my brothewr and he showed me this other kit that he says that will be way better but its around $2k but its made by eagle (and bringseagle specialties cast steel crankshaft,lightweight 5140 steel connecting rods, pistons,pistron pins clevite 77 rod and main bearing, and piston ring set). I dont know what to do, i think just modding the 350 as it is would be cheapest but i really want to biuld a 383 stroker.

Sorry for the long explantion but please tell me what you guys think.

[Pyrotechnic]

Have you thought about whether your transmission will hold this power? If your dad just wants to get you a stock rebuild 700R4, it will work for your basic 260HP 350 crate engine, but a 400HP 383 will destroy it very quickly. To get this motor in it's powerband you will need a high stall lockup torque converter as well.

What rear end and rear end gears do you have ? Is it a positrac rear end ? I guarantee you a 10 bolt 2.73 open rear end will make whatever engine you have irrelevant because it wont get traction, and with a 2.73 ratio it wont work with a 700R4 too well.

You need to think about more things than just the engine. A 2500RPM stall converter with a lockup clutch, a race built 700R4, a 3.73 posi rear end is a good basis for a strong motor. You're much better spending your money on these items first, THEN using whatever money is left on go fast parts for the engine.

I would much rather have a mildly built 300-330HP 350 with the proper drivetrain behind it than a 400HP 383 with a stock transmission. You are just asking for disaster if you don't do the driveline right the first time. IF you do the driveline right and still have enough money for the 383, then you will have an even faster truck and it will be just as reliable.

[liljon285]

Yea I am getting a torq conveter and i am going to put either a locker or posi with some gears in the rear end. What I cant decide is whether to stoke it or not, and i think im a bit more on the side of not stroking and saving a bunch of money yet still have decent power.

[piecesparts]

The cost is the real subject here and I am here to tell you that the cost will a lot of hidden things that will raise your investment fast. My last 383 cost me around $5000.00 because I broke the cheap build and decided not to do that again. Do it right the first time or suffer the broken consequences. I run a built 700R4 tranny (another $2800.00) parts are not cheap. I have a 2400 stall converter (needed only for the cam that I chose, not because of the horsepower).

You have to consider the machining cost of getting the block clearanced for the rods. The 400 crank in a 350 is not a direct drop in. The choice of rods, pistons and crank is important. you can use Scat products and get a very decent crank, but look for quality rods (they break easy on other setups) The heads is everything in this deal. The better the design and flow characteristics, the better the horsepower. What are yo uplanning for a cam and valve train? I ran a Crane cam for my first setup and it worked fine, but the Comp Cam roller setup is a great stepup, but it is slightly radical for the tranny's stock converter, so I went to the 2400 stall---but mine does not lockup. I run a 12 bolt posi with 3.73 gears and that works well with the power curve of the 383, anything higher and the motor labored on a city street to much.

For an economical build, I would bore a 350 to about 355, and change the heads to a good flowing set. Mine are Dart heads, there are many on the market. Look for a solid crank and then put the right cam profile in the motor. You can make the truck dance quite well with a built small block. Look at your tranny and rear end gears. My son has an 86 Silverado SWB with a GM replacement motor(350) with a Crane cam upgrade, Edelbrock intake and carb, attached to a 700R4 and 3.73 rear end gears. It runs hard and smooth.

[liljon285]

Alright so now its narrowed down to a 350 or a 355 lol. But im buying a used motor, might already be done or i might build it i dont know but ill proly end up building one.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by liljon285

Alright so now its narrowed down to a 350 or a 355 lol. But im buying a used motor, might already be done or i might build it i dont know but ill proly end up building one.

Please clarify your thought process on this.

[liljon285]

I am looking at an engine thats already built meaning i wont build it for $950 without shipping. So its either that or something that needs a rebuild.

[piecesparts]

You get what you pay for. Be sure of what is being offered. Horsepower costs money.

[liljon285]

Yes sir, i know that lol.

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

I would just beef the motor up a little and save your money and do a proper 383 stroker build down the road. Hate to see someone spend alot of money of the cheap version and end up having stuff break down quickly!

[liljon285]

No NO, I am not gonna buy cheap parts, Ima buy good ones, just less parts meaning cheaper. I would never put ****ty parts on any of my engines. Instead this will be my goal, like my dads truck(which he sold), It had a 350, pete jackson timing gears, cam lifter pisons intake and edelbrock carb. And yet it had 305 heads, and look how hard it ran even though it had a 4spd muncie lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abA8OclBZOU

[AirMale]

Here ya go, problem solved!
http://www.ohiocrank.com/chevy_rotating.html