408 Build Thread

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BrianT

BrianT

Here we go again...
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Well, after talking about it for too long, it's finally time to start building my 408 stroker. I have been limping the worn out 340 in my Dart for the last seven years and it's time for it to be replaced. I am going to use this thread to document my build and will update it regularly like a blog. Hopefully this will keep me motivated.

IMG_20120720_202855.jpg


I am starting with a 91 360 roller camshaft block. This engine was bought used off of Craigslist. It started out as a 300hp Mopar Performance crate engine that I was just gonna stick in the Dart as an interim engine while I waited to build the stroker. Upon tear down, we determined that it needed more than just gaskets and rings.

The first step will be to take it to the machine shop to have the block cleaned and measured. I want to make sure that it's a good rebuildable core. If the block checks out, I will have them magnaflux it to check for cracks. I plan on using Automotive Machine and Performance in Lawrence, Kansas. Doc there is a Mopar guy and has several small block stroker builds under his belt. He comes highly recommended and I feel confident he will do a good job for me.

My plans are to buy a forged Scat rotating assembly, and have them balance it and do my block work. Heads will probably be reworked RHS heads with a roller camshaft to match the work done.

Any and all comments are welcome, and I encourage everyone to follow along. But please, stroker haters, keep your comments to yourself. I don't want this thread to turn into a pissing match and get locked. Hopefully this thread can be informative and entertaining at the same time.

Here we go...
 
i just finished my conversion from /6 to 408....unbelievable torque and power, no comparison to what i´ve driven before. Take this for motivation....:D

Got the same block than yours, if you have any questions let me know!

Michael
 
Keep us posted,X2.RHS heads,a roller,4 inch stroke? Better buy stock in a tire company .
 
Good luck with the Stroker, I love the idea! Subscribed!
 
Those late 80s early 90s roller blocks are the best 360s made. I've sonic checked a few of them, and they are thicker than the earlier blocks by about .080 or so on avg. The castings are far better quality, and seem to be of better material (probably higher nickle content). The oil feed holes from the lifter gallery to the main line are upsized from the earlier blocks size. If you're using a hyd roller get some replacement lifters and reuse the factory lifter retaining setup. I think the lifter bores are taller than the earlier blocks so some machining or grinding will probably be required on aftermarket roller lifters with link bars ( link bar sitting on top of lifter bores before wheel is on the lobe).
 
Subscribed. I used an early Mopar crate motor in my 408 build as well (1992 LA block). I hope you dyno the motor so we can see your results. I'm interested to see how the heads affect your power and what roller lifters you will run. I'm running ported "308" heads and stock hydraulic roller lifters, the power in mine peaks at 5900 RPM.
 
Sweet, can't wiat to watch this build, I'm doing the same thing. Just havent started yet.
 
After we got the block torn down Friday night, we popped a few cold ones and studied it for a while. It's then that we came to a realization that no one had a truck to haul the block back to town. So it sits in the barn waiting for a ride!

Since our local track shut down earlier this year, this build will be a strictly Saturday night car show cruiser, that will scare the **** out of my unsuspecting friends and relatives. Almost everything I have done to the Dart was leading up to this engine build. The car is mini-tubbed to fit the 325/50 drag radials. Strange built Dana 60 with True Trac and 3.54 gears. Frame is tied with welded in sub frame connectors and four wheel discs on the corners. Transmission was rebuilt out of necessity a couple of years ago, but a shift kit was installed. We'll see how long it lasts. I have gathered a complete four speed set up in case it blows or I just get bored...

Here is my photobucket album. There are tons of pics in there if you want to see any of the work that has been done.

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b253/bdtunks/Dart stuff/
 
Your car sits perfect, love the stance ! The new 408 is going to get you moving. Every penny spent on mine was well worth it. Good luck!
 
This should be a good one to follow. Subscribed. Especially interested on the block & how your machinist feels it compares to the early 360 block(71-74). Thanks for posting.
 
I actually have a 73 block, that I had initially planned to use. It is a stock bore that you can still see the crosshatch in the cylinders. I had to pull it off of the engine stand when the roller block came along. I had planned on doing a retro fit on the older block and thought that I might be able to save some money by using the block that was already set up for roller lifters. Here's a shot of the 73 block.

img1313207131183.jpg
 
Brian T: That is a fantastic looking car and now you got me excited about getting back to my project. I really don't know that much about the mechanical side but I have learned a great deal from this forum and your post. I hope to follow your progress. I am almost done paying the final amount to my divorce attorney (the divorce was in 95 but she somehow began mistaking me for an ATM machine) and the money I had saved (gone) I can start building up again.
 
I like the idea of starting with a roller block, that will save a lot of money and grief too.

I would go ARP main studs and get that block line honed. You can go with bolt under oil pump on rear main or get nut machined down. Get that figured out before you line hone.

A Scat cast crank would be plenty strong for what you are doing. The cast is lighter too. Scat I-beams are light, very strong, and no clearancing of the block is needed.

Here is some motivation:

http://billsgarage.info/BarracudaVideos.shtml
 
340sFastback said:
I would go ARP main studs and get that block line honed. You can go with bolt under oil pump on rear main or get nut machined down. Get that figured out before you line hone.

A Scat cast crank would be plenty strong for what you are doing. The cast is lighter too. Scat I-beams are light, very strong, and no clearancing of the block is needed.
Click to expand...

I plan on using ARP bolts/studs throughout the build. Although a cast crank would be plenty strong, I don't want to look back later and say I should have spent the extra $$$ and gone forged.

I haven't built an engine in twenty years, and probably won't ever build another. I am going to use the best parts that I can afford in this engine. It's not going to be a high end build, but it certainly won't be called a budget build.
 
It's not much of an update, but like I said, I'm gonna use this thread to keep myself motivated.

We brought the block back to my house yesterday and I will be contacting the machine shop this week. They aren't open on Saturday, except by appointment, but we did get the block out of the barn and HALF WAY to the machine shop. :wink:

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I'm gonna try and get it the rest of the way there this week, or make an appt for Saturday morning.
 
A truck? I use my Neon to run parts around... A block weighs the same as 1 1/2 adults... Stick it in the trunk. Without main caps it slides right in. I do it solo but it's really easy with two guys lifting it.
 
moper said:
A truck? I use my Neon to run parts around... A block weighs the same as 1 1/2 adults... Stick it in the trunk. Without main caps it slides right in. I do it solo but it's really easy with two guys lifting it.
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Likewise, though I use my VW Golf (I think you know them as Rabbits).
 
I have a company car and my buddy has a new Chevy Cruze. Sticking a greasy oily block into the trunk of either one of them was not an option.
 
Great to see the build coming along. Doc and the guys over at AMP will treat you right. They've building Mopars for a LONG time around here. They were the only shop I used when working at the diesel shop, and the only ones I would trust to build anything for me personally.
 
moper said:
A truck? I use my Neon to run parts around... A block weighs the same as 1 1/2 adults... Stick it in the trunk. Without main caps it slides right in. I do it solo but it's really easy with two guys lifting it.
Click to expand...

Haha, this is exactly what I do, but they do fit with the caps on too. My machinest laughs at me everytime he sees me pulling in with my neon and pulling blocks out of the trunk.
 
The worst was the old Omni I had before the Neon. I had a complete dissassembled 440 core in there - intake and exh manifolds, hardware, and all. It was all it could do to maintain 55mph going up the largest hill between me and the shop at the time. I said "It really sticks in the corners" (my machinist at the time was a retired circle track racer...lol). He said "you didn't push it hard enough if it's still on the tires..."
 
Since I was working on that side of town (45 miles away) today, I stopped in and spoke with Doc at AMP. He seems pretty knowledgeable about Mopars and we discussed some of my options on the build. Everywhere I looked there were pictures of Mopars and there was even a Hemi head on the front counter that someone had dropped off. I think I chose wisely.

Looks like I'm gonna have to clean out the back of my company vehicle after all. It's a Ford Escape that I use to haul around my paintless dent repair tools. We joke that I have the only two seat SUV around. I have a piece of plywood that I can put down, I just need to have someone help me lift the block into the back of the SUV. I plan on taking the block to the machine shop Friday after work. :toothy7:
 
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