Stroker Smallblock cost

Thanks for all of the comments. The more info the better. I haven't decided what to do about the exhaust. I have a set of the 340 Hipo manifolds & a set of 1 5/8" fenderwell headers. I'd kind of like to stick with the manifolds since I have them, but the car has already been cut for the headers, so I'd have to patch the fenders. I do have the panels if I decide to do that. I have thought about the TTIs or the Doug's headers but neither looks like it will work with my 10.5" clutch without opening another can of worms. It's always something. I'll just throw in here that I have a 3.91 gear in the car.

As to the varying costs for machine work etc. I realize we're just talking ballpark #'s as far as what my cost would actually turn out to be. While I don't like the idea of having to tear down a new motor to check clearances it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I've been trying to get a definite price from Mopar Performance for the crate motor I want (part # P5153527) but haven't heard anything definite. I wrote Mopar performance & told them I had been trying for nearly a year to get a price on the motor. I said I had checked with my dealer, who told me the part number is good but no price is listed for it. I also told them I had checked on line with several vendors but none had been able to give me a price. MP wrote back & said that I should check with my local dealer because they were the best source of info. I wrote them back & asked them if they had even read my email & asked why they hadn't just told me to set my *** on fire. :banghead: It would have been just as much help! I repeated what I had said in my first email about not being able to find info anywhere & they sent me a canned response saying I hadn't given any more info that would help them answer my question & they would file the correspondence! :wack:

I finally called the Mopar tech line & told them what had been going on. The guy I talked to thought the "*** on fire" comment was pretty funny & said the reason there was no price on the motor is because it's still undergoing testing. I thought "well, that answers that." & then a few days later I saw an ad in MPG listing the motor for just under $10,000. Admittedly, this is complete with a six pack, minus the air cleaner, but it's still a lot. And it's probably still not available yet anyway.

So, now that I've finished that rant, where would I stand if I sold everything off & bought the crate? Would I be better off to sell my 340 stuff (basically a complete, disassembled late 60's forged crank bottom end & J heads with 2'02s) to some guy that "has to have a 340"? I would end up with new everything, including a much better head design than my J heads, & they would be ready for unleaded gas. The crate engine would have one of the new 340 blocks, a new stroker crank (forged or cast? anybody know?) & an assembled package (comp. ratio, cam, springs, carburetion, etc.) that supposedly is ready to go. Would the exhaust bottleneck of my small fenderwell headers or stock manifolds make a big motor a waste of time? Should I just find an older 360 to build & put a six pack on that? I'm still wide open at this point. If somebody wants to donate the ten grand, I'm open to that, too. :toothy7:


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