To stroke or not to stroke

[bubba1228]

so im running a 350 .060 over with flat tops and a stock crank and ive been thinking about getting a stroker crank, anyones thoughts? what would i need to change im running 5.7 rods and 350 ballencer, do they make them a direct fit for for 350 mains?

 

[username]

Theres a lot of kits out there,Scat,Eagle,PAW and so on,But IMO I would probably look for a block with a little more meat left in it before machining that one for a stroker crank.

 

[86Cutlass383SR]

so im running a 350 .060 over with flat tops and a stock crank and ive been thinking about getting a stroker crank, anyones thoughts? what would i need to change im running 5.7 rods and 350 ballencer, do they make them a direct fit for for 350 mains?

To go with the common 383 stroker, you need to replace the crank and pistons. Yes, they make 383 cranks that have the mains the same size as 350 mains (2.45"). A stock 400 crank uses 2.65" mains. They can be cut to 2.45" but by the time you do that buy a *new* crank cheaper than buying/modifying a 400 crank. If you go with an internally balanced kit, then you can use your 350 flywheel/flexplate and balancer. If you go with externally balanced like a stock 400, then they need replaced. Most 383/400 combos use an externally balanced flywheel/flexplate and balancer. Unless you're going into the over-6000 rpm world, don't bother with the internally balanced stuff.

I agree with username. Find a better block. If you are going to build a 383 you'll need new pistons and rings. The block will need honed at the very least. You may end up with too much piston wall clearance.

Buy a good used block and have it checked for cracks before ANY machine work is done. All you would end up reusing from your old shortblock is the block and pistons unless you get an internally balanced kit.

In all honesty, if you can't use some good flowing heads and a complimenting cam you probably won't see much differance than the 350. If you can run better heads/cam then there will be a big differance.

 

[bubba1228]

i know people say that .060 is too thin of wall that they overheat too easy but my motor rarely sees over 170-180 degrees, since everything inside and outside the motor is still pretty much new is it really worth starting all over with a different block?

 

[megaladon6]

just to be on the safe side, since it is towards the outside on bore and has use, i'd recommend picking up another block. 350's are a dime a dozen. if it was a 400 or a really rare engine it'd be a different story.
remember a 383 is going to put more stress on the block, including more side loading. so unless it's a drag only engine and you can fill the passages you're running a risk.

 

[RITTER]

You could also just sleeve the block you have, just a thought. Although it would probably be a lot cheaper to just find a different block to build your stroker motor. Plus, if you get a different block then you'll have your "350" shortblock still.

 

[86Cutlass383SR]

I had a .060 over 350 in my 69 Camaro daily driver for years and never had a problem at all. But, some blocks are thicker than others, too. I bought a 4 bolt main 350 block at a machine shop years ago for $75 but differant areas of the nation are differant, too. Scout around and wath newspapers and U-Pull-It/salvage yards for a differant block. If your 350 is still fairly fresh, why tear it down again. You can't reuse anything except the block and rods anyway. Leave your running engine in until you get that 383 done and swap it then.

Sleeving a block is about $60 a hole x 8. Thats almost $500 to fix a block & you can buy a rebuildable engine less than that. The guy I had build my engine did just that, sleeved 1 cylinder for $60. I really wished he'd called me first cause I had another block sitting here that I'd paid $50 for

 

[SafariWagon]

Last I checked sleeving a hole is about $100 per around here. $60 is cheap! If your 350 is fairly fresh I would just sell it complete on craigslist. I wouldn'tpay over $500 for a good 350 though, so don't expect more than that. Unless it has morethan just a cam and a intake on it. Why screwaround with a 350 at that point go to a 400. I wouldn'tbe afraid of a .060 350. But anything over a.040 400 is junk IMOon the street. Will overheat.

 

[megaladon6]

the problem isn't a 60 over block. it's rebuilding a used 60 over with the extra side loading of the stroker crank.
BTW, the 400 doesn't actually have an overheating issue when built correctly and with a decent coolant system.

 

[SafariWagon]

I disagree about the 400's overheating problem. The 400 small block is the only small block with siamesed cylinder walls. Meaning no coolant can pass between the cylinder bores to cool them. That's why they are more prone to over heating. It's also why 400 heads have "steam" holes drilled in them. Cylinder wall stability also suffers as the two bores kind of "share" a cylinder wall. A .060 400 is getting too thin IMO and does not retain enough cast iron for good cylinder wall stability. I spent 6 years working in an automotive machine shop that specialized in SBC for the dirt oval. You see and learn a lot with those crazy racers!