Hey guys, need some info on making a stroker. I have a 96 EB Bronco, 351W EFI with 75,000 miles on it and I am planning to stroke it.

First off, I don't know too much about muscling up a engine, aside form bolt-ons. I have installed a K&N system, new Y pipe, high flow CAT, Flowmasters and dual exhaust. Next is headers, intake manifold, ignition sys, distributor, throttle body, alternator, electric fan and maybe a chip. Anyway, I am wanting to really amp this thing up so I decided on making it a stroker since I have been hearing a lot of good things about them. There is no replacement for displacement they say. what I was hoping for is some pros and cons, I'm having a hard time deciding between going to a 393 or a 408. I will admit that I barely know what it means to bore a motor out or do some offset grinding and this is certaintly something that I haven't done before. But it sounds great and money really ain't to big of an issue. I have been doing some reading and getting some ideas but once again I am pretty much starting from scratch on all the technical stuff like crank throw and lift specs. I also know that to benifit from making a stroker I need a kickass combination with rod to stroke ratio, cylinder heads, etc. I have heard great things about AFR cylider heads and Twisted Wedge heads. So any info would be great. What do you guys know and what do I have to do to make me a kick *** stroker?

 

Well the only thing you need is the number to a parts house, a reliable machinist, the ability to pull and disassemble the engine and money.



The 393 uses longer stroke crank 3.85" as opposed to the stoke 3.5". It uses a stock 351w rods that measures 5.955" and stock type 302 pistons with your cylinders overbore.

The 408 uses a 4 " stroke crank, 6.2" length rods and custom to the application pistons.


Advantage of the 393, fairly cheap and it has more cubic inches than the 351w.

Advantage of the 408, the longer rods give it a mechanical advantage over the 351w and 393, as does the added stroke.

Your block would need to be clearanced to clear the rods but thats a common practice if you pick the right shop.

The kit needs to be balanced using your flywheel/flexplate and damper.

Down side, it requires a lot of labor either on your part or a shops getting the engine out, disassembled, delievered and picked up from the shop, etc. which can translate to more money out of pocket.


Scat is known to have a decent crank which doesn't require excess amount of time trying to balance it correctly. ebay has them for around $265

www.enginekits.com has the kit for $799 I believe and thats the 408 kit.

Stock heads will work, but it obvious the better the head you can stick on the block the better the engine will respond. Good luck

 

I agree when you say that stock heads are alright, after all, the twisted wedge heads and GT 40 heads are aimed squarely at fox body mustang owners because their flow characteristics are more suited to a 2800 pound Mustang rather then a 4500 pound Bronco. This is like the differences in Cleveland heads, the 4-v heads are for light weight cars that spend much of the time above 5000 rpm and the 2-v heads are for trucks and heavier vehicles that spend 95% of th time below 5500 rpm. While I am on the subject of Cleveland heads, it is possible to install them on the Windsor block and they will flow much better. If at all possible, try to locate Aussie Cleveland heads because they have the closed chamber of the 4-v and the smaller ports (required for greater torque) of the 2-v. But along with this, get a cam that matches the headers and head combination of the vehicle you have, for example, a 4x4 cam would work best for you, but dont take my word on it, call the manufacturers. I have heard very many great things about the 408 stroker, Scat crankshafts has a few kits and I know that others do too.
Sean

 

hifi, I think jw was saying that stock heads are just Ok, definitly not the choice on a stroker though. Your best bet if the budget allows is a good set of AFR, Twisted Wedge, Edelbrock or Brodox heads with the AFR heads being the first choice for the big stroker Windsors. These aluminum aftermarket heads far, far outflow/outperform the Aussie Cleavlands and would definititly be a much better choice on a stroker motor build.