Ive been doing some research on building up a 392 stroker motor. I am wondering what kind of enternal components I should use. Cast or forged crank? Price wise you cant beat a cast piece. I have always had this perception of forged always being better. I-beam or H-beam rods? Same here H-beam always being better. Hyperutectic or forged pistons? Again forged being better.
I am looking to build this motor for towing and need reliability. I also need be able to do it under $5,000. All of the assembly will be done by me. With this being my first engine build. Am I going to be getting in too deep? I am an aircraft mechanic and fell that I shouldnt have a problem with it. What would be some advise??

 

If you go the cheapest route of crank 300 pistons 250 and rods 150 reconditioned then you should be good for 400-450 hp. Seems like you want torque for pulling so I would say if done correclty you should be good to go. However if your budget is $5000 then any forged kit runs around 1500+ and would be money well spent as far as peace of mind, again if you want to spend that kind of money. If you are an aircraft mechanic then with some simple research this would be a cake walk. Good luck

 

If you are building for torque, keeping the compression at 9:1 max and the motor under 5500rpm, a cast crank, hyper pistons and reconditioned stock rods should work just fine. If you have the money to upgrade and really feel the need, get the forged pistons, forged crank and then the rods; in that order, and upgrade to main studs.

 

Thanks guys!

 

hey kevin I did the same build in my 85 and I went with the cheap stuff, I talked to the guys at ford svo and some others and they said the kit is nothing more than a 3.85 crank, stock 351w rods and 302 pistons(higher piston pin) the crank I bought for about $425 and used rod and pistons I already had. The truck will smoke both 35's in 1st and 2nd I LIKE it. By the way I was looking on E-bay the other day and a company had the whole kit for around $700 I think it would be worth checking out!!

 

Like mentioned above, if your build a daly drive motor and dont plan to race it, Then yes a cast crank will be fine, stock rodsW/ARP rod bolts, and hypereutetic piston are way beter than stock cast, and will be just fine unless your plannin on supercharger, turbo, nitrous. Spend you money on good machine work, and a set of aluminum heads,
Perferably AFR 185'S, and a very mild roller cam, and you'll be extreamly pleased.. DW

 

Ditto but go one more and find a good machinest(?) and talk to them. Tell them what you want to come with and ask for suggestions. Most of them are pretty honost and will help you build a good reliable motor without emptying your wallet.

 

Everyone, thanks for the good info! At the moment I am still stuck out in the desert. Im in the Air Force and just reenlisted yesterday. Cant wait to rotate back to the world and start building my truck.