LOL sorry their was no intended insult in that statement .. and Lew or someone else here can definately answere that question for you better than I as I am actually a Mopar guy who only likes Ford Trucks because they are workhorses and am usually happy with the power they make in stock form...

 

...When you build a stoker you need to find a good engine builder to do the work , they will check all the clearences for you , my 302 has .530 lift on a HO with no problems , but when ever you build a motor everthing needs to be checked , most RV , low end TQ speed density cams won't screw with the computer , but its allways good to get a good computer tune when ever you build a motor , you will pick up HP & TQ....Lew

 

Personally I wouldn't build a stroker at home, if I wanted it to be reliable. At the least, you want to have it decked, line honed, and bored. Then, you need to have the crank balanced for the new pistons. Then, you need new bearings, including cam bearings. Plus you'll need to do something with the heads...porting and cut the valves at the least.

If you're only going to build like 1-2 engines in your life, it's really not worth it to buy the special tools it required to rebuild an engine. Plus, there are many builders and machinists that are very good at what they do, that could build you something very reliable if you really needed more power.

Personally, the most I would do at home is a cylinder head swap (or get them ported) and a cam swap. I'm not sure what else you would have to do with your 351 specifically, but certainly you'd have to do something with the intake manifold and exhaust if you're stock at the moment.

 

Thanks everyone for all the info. Im still thinking about doing it but only as a learning kinda thing now. Ill work on it in the basement little by little gathering experience and tools as I go. Eventually it will get done. Right now, I think I am just going to go with a nice cam upgrade and take the heads and intakes to be ported and polished. Make it easier for right now and a bit quicker. The 4.10's give it a fair amount of pull now but towing a bobcat up some of these hills around here, I just want a little more. Long term, throw in a stroker. Short term, throw in a cam and a little machine work. Once again, thanks to all who chimed in. It was helpful and eye opening. LOL Still want to do it, but Im gonna take my time and learn as I go.

 

personally i live in Pa... i know the feeling of the pulling on hills... but for all the more your asking it to do i would say in my opinion is a bigger cam, free flowing exhaust and intake... other than that maybe look into the "six liter tuneup" just do a search on here for it, you'll turn up results... just my thoughts of it

 

If you want to build a motor like the one you talk about, taking the time to do it a little at a time is the way to do it if you want to do it yourself (plus you mention being in PA, and basement projects are great on snowy winter evenings, although I presume you will have a way to get a completed motor out of the basement when you are done?) There are several books available on building stroker motors out of 5.0's and 5.8's, and that should be the first thing you get is a couple of those. Put one in the "reading room" and one on the nightstand. Then whenever you get the chance, read read read. Ask questions here on FTE as you go along if you run into things you don't understand. Slowly accumulate the parts you determine you need/want and then when you have everything start building it. Although you will need to farm out the machine work (boring, clearancing, balancing, installing the cam bearings) once the machine work is done, there really isn't any reason you can't do the majority of the assembly yourself... painting the block, installing the crank and and rotating assembly and checking rod and main bearing clearances, installing the pistons on the rods if you use non press fit rods, installing the cam and timing set, putting the top end on, all sorts of little odds and ends that are involved in building a motor. Along the way you will gain knowledge and the satisfaction that you did as much of the work yourself as you could.

One thing I would recommend in doing a stroker though is loosing the stock heads. TrickFlow, Edelbrock, Ford Racing, and others all make some excellent heads you can buy already assembled to bolt on and take advantage of the power a stroker will make.

As for the near term on the existing motor, IMO I would go with the cam upgrade, skip the port and polish on the stock heads and save that money towards the stroker or a good set of FRP's or Trickflows, and add a good exhaust with a set of headers.

 

6.0 liter tune up? Cute. I assume your meaning a diesel and money is already tight enough. LOL I really do want to build one. Just one of those things to check off on my list. I like to build things and being a woodworker and having been a construction worker, I have a lot of things under my belt. Im kind of a jack of all trades master of none kinda guy. This build would be another direction for me. Now with a cam upgrade, you wouldnt go with a port and polish? Would you still get the money out of the cam without it? I cant buy a stand alone EMU to program the upgrades either. If its just plug and play as far as the cam is concerned, we're all good. Thanks again for all the helpful advice. Gonna get to the library for some books.

 

The "six liter tuneup" refers to a tuneup came up with by a poster whos screen name is sixliter. Basically it involves using a good set of wires, new cap, adding a hi-output coil, opening the gap on the plug gap up to about .055 and bumping the timing up a couple degrees. By bumping the timing a bit and opening the plugs up, you increase the spark kernel allowing a better flame front to propagate resulting in a more efficient fuel burn. The higher output coil is added to provide a spark capable of jumping the increased plug gap.

As for the heads, while a port and polish can help, the amount gained is not a major amount without doing other mods to take advantage of the increased airflow, and once you are into doing the mods, you might as well do the whole thing. The factory heads flow plenty well for a mild cam, and upgrading the exhaust will take it up even more from there. On a stock, or mostly stock motor, porting can actually hurt, in that the motor can't take advantage of the extra flow and instead will actually lose air flow velocity. There are other upgrades that will provide more bang for the buck before porting and polishing is needed, thus the reason I dont suggest it until the other mods (compression, new ecm tune, different injectors, etc) are ready to be done.

 

X2 on LWards recommendation on the 6 litre tuneup. Many guys also see increased MPGs with it. I averaged a half dozen tanks before and after the tuneup and gained 20%. When I really get into it, I can't tell a difference, but I never have to drop out of OD anymore.

 

So just gettin more fire into the cylinder helps a good big bit. Its so simple it should work. Got the whole 'why didnt I think of that!' forehead bang there. Didnt know it could work up an extra 20% in efficiency. Sound like a good idea.