Electric fans are useful beyond the xtra h.p. thought. Have you ever started your engine when it's 20 * out + wondered if that durn fan wasn't running, this motor would warm up faster? This is just one scenario. Another would be in high water crossing situations. Water is a fan Killer, shredder, etc. + yes, I've been in high water emergency situations + wondered what that horrible noise was that I was hearing. Mud? What mud on the radiator. Oh, that gunk all over the front of my truck is making it overheat?
The beauty of elec. fans is; if you have the proper switching - you can decide when the fan needs to be on, or off! + you gain some wrenching room up front.
With elec. fans, you can put them anywhere you need to, (in the bed for instance) with the proper plumbing of course.
In a few years we will have elec. pwr steer pumps, waterpumps, oil pumps,(already have fuel pumps) air compressors, + air conditioning systems.
Yeah, there are a.comps. now. These new generation pumps will air up my semi + even, maybe offer air powered stuff that I've already mentioned. + anything else that can be electrified. 200 amp alternators will be normal + we'll even see people crossing over to 24 + 36 volt elec. systems. The ultimate goal of the current engineer crowd is to do away with any type of belt system.
I personally like belts + the flexabilty they offer in breakdown situations. 24-36 volt electrical systems has my vote. Hello serious welding on the road + some really serious lighting for night drives in the woods.
Let us know how the elec. fan works out for your uses. firewoodtruck

 

I read on a different thread where the 521 and 545 stroker kits were the same price. Had you considered going to 545 at one time? If not, and you have not yet bought the 521 kit, why not go all the way? Or do you need more beer for that?

 

Jim, you are correct the 545 kits cost about the same as the 521 kits do, but unless you going for max power I usually suggest the 4.3" stroke with a 6.8" rod. There isn't a lot of difference and you can use the same pistons with the 4.5" 6.7" rod combo but the rod ratio is a little better with the shorter stroke with less side loading and cylinder wear. From what I have seen personally and read about the 4.3" seems to be the best compromise for increased CID, power and longevity for extended street use, which is what this thread is about. I just feel the 4.3 stroke will give you better longevity in a street driven application.

 

So if you were building one for max torque to haul a camper around with, you would go with the 521 over the 545? Or would you not even go stroker, and keep it at 460?

 

Let me put it this way to you, if you had a block that would clean up at .030 overbore, would you bore it to .080 max overbore for the few extra cubes or go ahead and bore it to .030? The reason I ask that is this. .030 would be a better choice for longevity on the engine, but if your building a race engine and going for every little HP you can get you bore to the max. In this case stroking to 4.3" (521 cid with a .030 over bore) is a nice way to go for good power and still have great engine life expectancy. 4.5" stroke is going to give you a slight increase in power due to increased cid but it does put more side loading on the pistons with the slightly less rod ratio and this will increase the wear slightly. It is slight but it's there and thats why I recommend the 4.3" stroke instead.
And no I wouldn't recommend staying stock stroke, that extra 60 cid does wonders on the power.

 

Cool, thanks for the thoughts. So 521 it is

 

Bucks77ford where did you get the 521 stroker emblems?