Alright long story short is I think the block let go in my 400 (used for mud racing, bout 600hp, posted about many times before), as to why i have no clue but block flex and running lean are the only two things that come to mind right now (blew anitfreeze out the zoomies, and we drained the coolant system out the oil pan-but thats misleading as the rad is higher than the motor-my dad also seen bits in the oil pan, have yet to pull things apart to tell whats busted and why). Anyway I'm assuming i'm going to need at least a whole new short block, and that leads me to this thread.

If all i need is a short block i'll be looking to go stroker, as i want an all forged bottom end, and i want to try to bump the cr up into the 13:1+ range (race motor only, current cr is 12.25-12.5:1), I would also require strengthing the block as much as possible, so block filler, main girdle, etc. For the rotating assembly I want to try to go big, as in a 4.5" stroke minimum (yes it'd be a custom billet crank and i'm working on sources, pricey yes but i'm willing to deal with this), and possibly bigger. Now here in lies my question what would you guys do in terms of rod and piston combo to make this work? Since the crank is built to order, bearing sizes can be made to whatever i want, and about the only thing i would like to try for is keep the pistons and rods off the shelf pieces (cost and availabilty reasons here as the crank is pricey), and try to keep everything as light as possible. That said a few things that come to mind are the 4.5 460bbf stroker kits (similar deck heights) and 347 stroker parts. What do you guys think?

Next would be the block, what would you do to make the thing as bullet proof as possible (cam is a billet solid roller good for 6-650hp, heads are ported 4v closed chamber units and a minimum of 12.25cr with zero deck pistons)?

Also i'm not the first to do this as barnett motorsports already makes a 466 and 496 strokers (4.5 and a 4.7ish crank, can't remember what he said exactly for the 496 but one can figure it out, but they use chev bearing sizes and custom order pistons with a 4.03 overbore, blocks are built moded for the power-never said exactly what, they are built for the pullers that can't swap motors, ie 70's ford 4wd's) and they're impressive units, and after chatting with him i thought i'd see if one could do a short block for less than what he wants (roughly7k), yes i said i'm willing to pay, but i would still like to control cost as much as possible as the option of a 557" bbf now becomes a better option power wise once at that price range.


Now lets here them ideas, and don't be afraid to be creative

 

Tim Meyer might have some ideas... He can probably also sell you parts you'd need for the build...

TMeyer, Inc. Precision Automotive Machining

 

Barnets units are not for rpm use, as he stated months bakc, I would definitively use a 434 stroker from tim, why morE?

 

you have a link to that thread hollenjoe? just curious, but as to why more, well i like to push limits, and yeah it may cost more, but big deal, i'm willing to pay, and i want to see just how far these can go, but if things are a little off base and not plauseable (custom rods, custom pistons, etc) then yeah a 434 it will be, and tim will be getting a phone call (and if this works out i'll call him up and see if wants to do the short block, unless he chimes in here ).

when i get a few spare minutes (stupid shutdown work and trying to move suck up major time) i'm gonna search for some rod/piston combos and see what everyone thinks.

 

OOps, I read again, and I remembered wrong, he stated that he only built those 496 to people who were running stock engines inbogging and truck pulling classes, these strokers are like 5k and wont last long.

And there are far to many 429/460 blocks around if you want more power and these can be stroked way pased 496.

Heres the link of bernett answering questions himself:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...e-400-a-5.html

heres his page :
Barnett High Performance | Your performance HEADquarters!

And here is bad talk hehe:
Barnett High Performance - Ford Truck Fanatics

 

lol yeah read all those, problem with me swapping to bbf is the top end and valve train, i just have to much into the heads and valve train to toss it to the side and buy all new parts (i'm figuring at least 4 to 5k to match what i have now).

 

Can you run a aftermarket block like dart? Run your heads on a dart block? Still get to use your heads and just have to run a crank and piston/rod for different block. 434" not a problem. If you have to run a factory block upgrade to a sleeved block with extra length skirt for longer stroke crank and keeping pistons straight in bore at bottom dead center. Back to dart block and the only question is what tranny you running and transmission adapt to you tranny auto/manual. Believe dart is for small block ford pattern compared to bigblock bolt pattern. PM sent.

 

I hate to bring this up but here is the story...

I've seen one (1) 400 that was bored .125 over. It was sleeved and furnace brazed and ran a 4.5" billet stroker crank -- that's 481ci out of a "small block Ford". It lived for a few seasons at the drags but eventually blew. It was built for a specific class back in the late 1980's and ran a set of heavily modified 4V heads with a cut and shut 351C tunnel ram. I've seen the remains and it looked to be a helluva motor but it was on the edge. It was run in a 85-86 T-bird body that was built over an old Fairmont drag shell. The guy ran a Doug Nash 5spd that looked to run some type of inline shifter like the old V-Gates, which it could have been. Anyway, I don't have anymore details and the guy is in his 60's now and out of drag racing. He has a lot of old abused parts laying around but he is cleaning house and all the old stuff will soon be off to the recyclers.

 

That would be something interesting to see...

 

I stuffed an engine at the base in millington recently - and one of the shop managers and I got to talking (seeing as how I've "acquired" a 351M in the deal) about mains, rods, etc...

For a 351M (short-decked 400) he said several things, which I don't know if apply to the 400.

- Also, if you look around the web you'll see some articles out there about "427 Windsors" built by P.A.W., which is a different engine family, but the way they built up the rotating assembly is dead on the mark as far as this goes.

One item is that there are some oil passage issues. I forget the details, but I remember that he said you needed to go through some moves to get it oiling better.

Item two, is that on a 351M he ran once, he had the rod journals cut to chevy 454 spec, and used off the shelf rods. The thing about that is that the PIN BOSS in the pistons you use has to be beefier because of the extra degrees of angle (and thus higher wear and forces) that a greater stroke will cause.
*PAW used Kieth Black hypereutetic pistons for their 427W build.

Interesting point in the PAW build, is that when the rod journals were done, they were "OFFSET GROUND" to put the center of the rod journal even farther out.
PAW also based their build on Chrysler rods, for the smaller journals.

I don't know the spec on Chrysler and Chevy rods, but you could go with whichever was smaller diameter. That would allow for a beefier rod end if you go with aftermarket rods, and since rod caps are a serious weak point you want them as stout as you can get them.

I dunno what other rods may work - but there are many and all you want are the specs. The actual rods can be from any of a lot of street and strip manufacturers, bored to whatever spec you decide on.

Most curious of all, was that in the PAW 427W build - they used a 400 crank, cut the timing gear boss to mate with 351W gears, and clearenced the block and cylinder skirts so that the crank counterweights would fit.

I dunno what longer throw cranks might be available, maybe T. Meyers has some info there.

 

Nice, do you have the link to the article?

 

There are several 351W stroker cranks you can use in a 351M/400 block. You can get 4.0", 4.10", 4.17", and 4.25" cranks for 351W's that you can use. For the money and the easy of build, contact Tim Meyer and use one of his complete stroker kits. His kit is built around a 351W stroker crank that measures 4.25". He also offers .020", .030", and .040" over bore pistons for these cranks which will give you a displacement of 432-436ci. Don't waste time and money trying to put together a stroker. One, you will not find a proper timing chain set unless you know what to look for OR you call Tim, he sorted out the crank gear issue.

 

Deck Height and Compression Distance Data

here's a link to a page with common engine dimensions for comparison, very helpful for building a custom stroker, but as mentioned above.... why bother?

kits are readily available but unfortunately even they sometimes don't fit together or inside the dimensions of the block

 

A few specs about the 434 kit.
Not sure how familiar everyone is with bob weights, but the 434 kit has a bob weight of about 1800 and is internally balanced. A stock SBC is 1980 bob weight. A 340 Mopar we just did had a bob weight of about 2100.
This makes a big stroke engine very responsive and it likes RPMs.
Rod length is about 6.700" and gives a "livable" rod to stroke ratio.
This gives about 1.56:1 rod to stroke ratio.
KB says to never get below 1.5:1 rod to stroke ratio if you want any longevity.
Obviously all parts are forged, need I say more here.
I would skip the main girdle and install our 4-bolt main splayed steel caps.

 

that rod to stroke ratio should give a real nice tug on large volume intake ports, combined with a cam grind that exploits low lift flow & the low bobweight... WOW!