428 Crank.

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Jun 4, 2004 | 09:06 PM

Dealford

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Cargo Master

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From: Belleville, Ontario

428 Crank.

I talked to Charles at Beatty & Woods today about a complete service on the old 428 crank I've got laying around.
Bake, clean, mag, check for straightness & cut. Balance last.
Question: Do these cranks have any unusual wear tendencies aside from the mains & throws?

TIA. AL.

Jun 4, 2004 | 10:01 PM

dinosaurfan

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From: SW Michigan

428 cranks

Deal, the 428 cranks don't have any weird wear issues that I have seen. But you may want to re-think letting these guys touch your crank. I didn't see any mention of measuring for wear ? Why would the crank need to be cut ? 99 out of 100 times, an FE crank is not worn enough to need grinding, a polish is plenty. Don't let someone sell you a grinding job you don't need . DF

Jun 4, 2004 | 10:34 PM

Dealford

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Cargo Master

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From: Belleville, Ontario

I got the crank for free. It sat in buddys shed for about 10 years unwrapped, so it's covered with rust pretty bad. $150 cdn. to check & cut is a good price.
This is where I'm going to start a 410 or 352 stroker. I can get this ready to go & seal it up good while getting up more money to move on.
I've been hearing about these guys for decades. Today I saw a BIG BUCKS, as in HUGE, blown hemi and the guy told me that he used them for all his machining.
Thanks DF.
AL.

Jun 4, 2004 | 10:56 PM

led sled

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if they seem like a repitable shop and seen some of there work i would consider what they say. i don't know of any issues with that crank. but don't seem anxious to hand over your money either !!

Jun 5, 2004 | 02:53 PM

dinosaurfan

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From: SW Michigan

428 stroke, or more ?

Deal, I'm not sure cutting the crank and then letting it sit around is a good idea. Even if it is well greased and protected, it is not a good idea. Why ? Because you may learn things after the cut that will make you wish you hadn't done it. Like what you ask ? If you have a standard size 410 or 428 crank, and you offset grind the rod journals, you can have a 4.125 stroke, instead of 3.98. But it works best if you have a standard size crank to start with. You'll be taking most of the metal off from the inside of the journal, and you'll have a finished size of 2.311- the same as a 400 or 351M. The really neat thing here is you can use rods for a 400 Ford, and they go right on. Some guys use aftermarket rods intended for a chevy ( 2.200 ) but these require the big end of the rod to be narrowed, the 400 Ford rods don't need this extra work. The extra stroke will give you some thing in the 430-440 range, depending on the bore you have. SR magazine did a 390 and added a 4.125 crank and made 520 lbs-ft of torque, even though they had some goofy vintage intake, instead of the Blue Thunder they should have chosen. Interested ? DF, from his Dad's house.

Jun 6, 2004 | 09:54 AM

Dealford

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Cargo Master

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From: Belleville, Ontario

No matter wether the engine winds up in my 63 Fairlane (rough shape) or a truck, I'll want it to pull trailors. So, torque will be my #1 target.
I have the 352 in the 63 now, so doing the stroker is what I'd like to do. Getting a 4.05 block might lead me to go 500+ hp, and that gets expensive real quick. Fun-Yes, Practical-No.

Is there an option with offset grinding a crank that's really rusty like Dodge rods? I seriously doubt that a .010 cut will clean the journals up. How much material can be cut & still allow the 4.125 stroke with 400 Ford rods?
AL.

Jun 12, 2004 | 09:06 PM

dinosaurfan

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From: SW Michigan

offset grinding, rusty-ness

Deal, you could set the throw on the crank grinder to 2.0625, and try for the standard 400 size of 2.311. If the rod journals don't clean up, then go for the next size of 2.301, and down to 2.291 0r 2.281 if ya need to. Then you'll have rod bearings at .010 or .020 or .030 undersize, but so what ? If the crank is really rough you would have to grind it undersize anyway, why not get the extra stroke ? Yeah, there are some dodge rods that can be made to work, as can some aftermarket rods for the BBC, but those all have to be narrowed on the big end, the 400 ford rod doesn't need that. DF,@ his Dad's house

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Jun 14, 2004 | 08:51 PM

Dealford

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Cargo Master

Joined: Aug 2003

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From: Belleville, Ontario

Thanks DF & Russ & led sled.
My objective is torque. The undersize 400 rod bearings just might allow the offset grinding thing to be done. If so, I'll have to find a 4.05 block `cause the 352 won't work. That pretty much answers the crank issue.
My budget will take alot of time to get everything together. I'm probably looking at stock valvetrain & the C6AE-R heads that I've got. I'm not looking to spin this motor off the scale. Pistons will be the most expensive part because I'd like to run propane, and high compression makes it work better.
I'd like to get by with a single 4 MR intake. Figuring out which cam can come later(after block & pistons).
AL.