[SR-71Blackbird]

n/m just saw the other post.............mods can delete this

 

[GreenBird]

You can't fit a 5.4 crank in a 4.6 block. You can get a 3.75" crank and 3.7" bore for 324cid (versus 330cid of a 5.4) but that's big bucks.

Putting in a 5.4 block will net you low end torque but your not going to make any more (probably less) power than a 4.6. The 5.4 also has very few 2v intake options.

Stick with stock displacement, or get a big bore, or go 4v and get whatever displacement you want.

 

[SR-71Blackbird]

only ford could design a stroker that makes less power.....idiots
and if they are modular engines why don't the parts interchange.....chevy's are more modular

 

[GreenBird]

How so? Can you drop a 4.25" stroke crank in a 350 block? Can you put BBC head on a SBC chevy block?

The modular isn't different than windsor blocks, my 351 EFI truck makes the same power as a 302 HO motor.

 

[MadMikeyL]

I think what he meant by that was that a SBC is more modular. You can take any SBC crank from 260" up to 400" and put it in any SBC block with any SBC heads and any SBC intake, and use any SBC front accessory setup and no matter what combination of all the SBC parts you decide on, it will all still bolt right in place of the original SBC that your car started with. You don't have to deal with a 400" motor being taller or wider than a 305" or a 350", or having to buy a different oil pan or intake to swap a 350 in place of a 305, but with a ford when you want to swap from a 302 to a 351 you need a different oil pan, intake manifold, front accessory brackets, etc. Also with the chevys you can actually make stroker motors from stock parts. The 383 is just a 350 block with a 400 crank. The chevy 302/327/350 are all the exact same block with different cranks. With fords all the stroker kits are using aftermarket parts. The closest we can get to a stroker with stock parts is the 393 which uses 351 rods and 302 pistons with an aftermarket crank. So what I'm getting at here is that his comment about chevys being more modular is definitely valid. Sorry for the rant.

Mike

PS. I just read through this and it makes it sound like I am saying chevy motors are better than fords; I'm not saying that, just confirming what SR-71 said about the chevy motor being more modular.

 

[SR-71Blackbird]

thank you mike, that is exactly what i meant

 

[kdanner]

Many of those statements about the SBC are just not true. They don't all have the same size main journals, so you can't just use any crank in any block. Some are too large for some blocks, and others are smaller, needing bearing spacers. 302 and 327 both came with both size journals, so thay are not all the same as a 350. 2 different rod journal diameters. The 400 SBC is externally balanced so that crank needs a unique damper and flywheel. Vortec heads need different intakes. All heads need holes drilled in them to be used on a 400 block. Different valve covers with different bolt patterns needed depending on the year. Changes to the block/crank for a different rear main seal. You cannot use any old front accessory setup, some heads don't even have holes in the ends. Someone explain to me why these people take the crank from a 400 and stick it in a smaller bore block, the 383 makes no sense whatsoever, you want bore, not stroke.

Also, with some minimal work to a 400M crank, it can be used in a 351W block, so you do not have to have an aftermarket crank for a Ford either.

 

[MadMikeyL]

Many of those statements about the SBC are just not true. They don't all have the same size main journals, so you can't just use any crank in any block. Some are too large for some blocks, and others are smaller, needing bearing spacers. 302 and 327 both came with both size journals, so thay are not all the same as a 350. 2 different rod journal diameters. The 400 SBC is externally balanced so that crank needs a unique damper and flywheel. Vortec heads need different intakes. All heads need holes drilled in them to be used on a 400 block. Different valve covers with different bolt patterns needed depending on the year. Changes to the block/crank for a different rear main seal. You cannot use any old front accessory setup, some heads don't even have holes in the ends. Someone explain to me why these people take the crank from a 400 and stick it in a smaller bore block, the 383 makes no sense whatsoever, you want bore, not stroke.

Also, with some minimal work to a 400M crank, it can be used in a 351W block, so you do not have to have an aftermarket crank for a Ford either.

Ok. I was always told that internally the SBC was all the same. I thought they all had the same size main journals and the same head bolt pattern. I thought that in any given year, all SBCs were balanced the same. I know the vortec is different, and so are the LS motors, but prior to those, there was a lot of parts interchangability. I don't know a whole lot about chevy motors. I never built a stroker chevy motor, so I'm not saying I know everything about them, just what I have been told by other chevy guys. I guess they are wrong if there are differences in main journal size and other stuff. As for the 383, more stroke means more low end torque, which is a good thing on the street. I guess a 400" motor doesn't rev too well, or maybe there aren't many heads available for it if you have to drill new bolt holes to use other SBC heads on a 400 block. I've never been in a car with a 400" SBC, but I have been in a couple 383 cars, and they are a lot of fun on the street.

Mike

PS. Enlighten me on the 400M crank in a 351W. What exactly needs to be done to make it work?

 

[kdanner]

PS. Enlighten me on the 400M crank in a 351W. What exactly needs to be done to make it work?

Just some lathe work. Cut down the counterweights some, reconfigure the snout so it matches a 351W.

You can do it on the cheap using a small block Chrysler rod, and small block Chevy piston, I built a 427 inch windsor like this about 15 years ago. A little bit of offset grind to the crank in that particular case.

Really irrelevant now, as ready to go aftermarket stroker cranks are cheap for Fords and Chevys, so no point in hunting down old junk these days.