426 stroker, is it reliable?

-
scrappydoo

scrappydoo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
150
Reaction score
2
Location
PMQ, NSW
Hi,
I was going to buy the 426 stroker from hughes, but I've seen opinions that the rings don't last long, maybe 10,000 mile. An that the 408 will only last 20,000 mile before needing new rings.
Does anyone have a long term experience with a 426 stroker motor that they could share?
I'm talking about a street motor, not a race motor.
Thanks.
 
scrappydoo said:
Hi,
I was going to buy the 426 stroker from hughes, but I've seen opinions that the rings don't last long, maybe 10,000 mile. An that the 408 will only last 20,000 mile before needing new rings.
Does anyone have a long term experience with a 426 stroker motor that they could share?
I'm talking about a street motor, not a race motor.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

That's all BULL!!!!!
The story with the 426 is that the ring land on top is a little thin, so the ring gaps need to be correct, and you dont want to be a dumbass and hit it with a lot of nitrous. You're hearing stuff from people with no experience on the subject repeating what they heard from the previous moron. In an n/a application those pistons are just fine.

You can build some big power with it. It's a nice motor to build i you have no intention of any boost or nitrous. And that's not a problem because it'll run fine all by itself without anything.

The parts are all top notch. People balk about the pistons....they are probably the best pistons you can get fo the price. PERIOD. It's also a light assembly to give you quick revs, and hardly any stroke clearancing required at all because the rod big end is small and doesnt want to hit the block like a 408 with a standard journal. The rods are k1 and so is the crank. They are very good stuff. And you receive it already balanced, so it's ready to go is eveything checks out.

if there is anything you MIGHT want to do, it's maybe to stiffen up the bottom end with a block fill, and use studs. If you're using an r block it can be build into an awesome engine with all caution to the wind.
Keep the revs to below 6500 and it will last a very long time.
ESPECIALLY ON THE STREET.

I have an r block and that assembly sitting in boxes going into an a body.

here, read this and draw your own conclusion.
http://www.hughesengines.com/TechArticles/12feb2008smallblock426strokerdynotest.php
 
BTW notice those numbers were with only a 750 carb. Proof that you dont need a big carb to make good power with a smallblock...depending on what you define good power as. 600hp IMO is good power. And the smaller carb makes it a lot more driveable too.

Go for it!
 
Thanks for the reply.

You're right, all the opinions I have read have been hearsay.
But the last person that said it to me is very experienced in mopars and says that the 408's are only lasting 20,000mi, and that the engine builders he talks too believe the 426 would be less than that.

Now the motor I want to build will see no more than 5500rpm on a stock converter with no nos or any racing.

I appreciate your reply, but you haven't built your 426 yet so can't definitively say what the life expectancy of a mild street build will be.

If it lasts 50,000mi, before re-ringing then that's fine, but 10-20k is not enough.

I've searched far and wide on the interwebs and I can't find anyone that has long term experience with this stroker kit.

Let me know what you think.
 
The stroke is still .030" shorter than my personal favorite Brand X mill and I never ran into longevity issues with that one (aside from the factory rods eventually being a bit weak). I'd think as long as the bore finish is good and the rings are of high quality, it should give many, many miles of reliable service in street trim.
 
Most engine guys only know what "they" build the most of and if not familiar with strokers will talk you out of it to get you to go with their "proven" builds.

Talk to as many builders as possible and concentrate on guys that build mostly street motors as opposed to race motors.
 
scrappydoo said:
Thanks for the reply.

You're right, all the opinions I have read have been hearsay.
But the last person that said it to me is very experienced in mopars and says that the 408's are only lasting 20,000mi, and that the engine builders he talks too believe the 426 would be less than that.

Now the motor I want to build will see no more than 5500rpm on a stock converter with no nos or any racing.

I appreciate your reply, but you haven't built your 426 yet so can't definitively say what the life expectancy of a mild street build will be.

If it lasts 50,000mi, before re-ringing then that's fine, but 10-20k is not enough.

I've searched far and wide on the interwebs and I can't find anyone that has long term experience with this stroker kit.

Let me know what you think.
Click to expand...

Perfectly reliable.
Rings will last no different than any factory 360.
These assemblies are mostly running around in efi trucks like rams and dakotas just as you describe.

With some RHS/Indy heads, a milder cam and a 750 carb, it will be no slouch. That's for sure. And driven to a 5500 rpm redline it will have 100k reliability.
 
There is simply no way that any engine with a piston that is 1.5" compression distance can last long term. Most engines can only be expected to last about 25K miles... but in a car that is only driven sparingly, that'sa long time. In the northeast you're talking several years... The problem isnt the ring lands. It's the lack of shirt. So the rings simply cannot remain stble for the 80K miles a factory engine can. If longevity is the goal, then I'd say build a 360. You could also try a different crank, a shorter rod, and a taller piston. But it gets MUCH more expensive for things like SBC rods and crank pin sizes that are non-standard.
 
Great thread thanks I too am chomping at the bit to buy/build one of these beasties for my street car and have had a hard time finding info on combos for power and longevity . I plan on going the r block route as well but haven't found out who to buy from where did you get your POS ? how much ?
 
The next engine after my 408, I'm going the street 426/Indy head route...But first, I gotta get my damn engine in the damn car.
 
I would stay away from Hughes engines.I only live 10 mile from Hughes and I do NOT buy anything from them and there is a reason for that.
 
68383GTS said:
I would stay away from Hughes engines.I only live 10 mile from Hughes and I do NOT buy anything from them and there is a reason for that.
Click to expand...

I have to say , a statement like that needs to be explained so please PM the whole story to me and I will keep it to myself if you don't want to explain it publicly , and for the record I lived in the Lansing area for 10 years so I am not unfamiliar with some of the local families but have know direct knowledge of anyone associated with Hughes at least that I am aware of .
 
68383GTS said:
I would stay away from Hughes engines.I only live 10 mile from Hughes and I do NOT buy anything from them and there is a reason for that.
Click to expand...

There are many people that say this about any shop..."do not buy from this place" I've dealt with Hughes engines the whole time they've built my 408 stroker. Every time I've talked to them, it has been a positive experience. But, of course everything can't be perfect, and it's hard to satisfy everyone...
 
I agree with Moper that there's no way a long stroke engine can last as long as a short stroke version of the same design. Remember the longer the stroke the faster the piston speed is for any given rpm. Also when using the same length rods the piston to rod angle increases compounding the issue. Nevertheless if you drive it sparingly such as I do my car (I only put about 2000-2500 miles a yr on mine) it will last for several yrs. so I wouldn't be afraid to try a 426 stroker.
 
Thanks for the replies, please keep them coming.
But, so far we have no one that has long term experience with the 426 stroker.

I thought it would've been more popular than it appears to be.

It's a lot of coin to put down for 10-20k mi before a re-ring, but there would be no cheaper way to have a 426 in your a-body.
 
If you are going to build a stroker talk to Dram or RyanJ on here or moparts.They will steer you the right way.Sometimes you have to watch (the flavor of the month) kits.I would be more concerned about the honda rod journals.
 
It's not a definate that it will need anything, but you have to be aware that you are sacrificing something to get more of something else. The factory had to make them last with the knowledge of the day... To get more power, you acrifice longevity. I have friends with 40K miles on 4.15 stroke RBs, and another with less than 10 on his 4" LA and it's got with ring seal issues. (I had nothing to do with either one... Just stating examples) The guys that do a lot of them and have a good understanding of how everything interacts will know how to get the best life reliably. That same group will not be the cheapest in parts or labor becasue of that. Regardless of stroke or rod/stroke ratio, the taller the piston, the better the longevity because the ring sealing will always be the first to show signs of wear as the piston rocks at TDC.
 
It was suggested to me that stroking a 383 would be a better way to go for longevity, and it would be cheaper to build.
 
Isn't what is refered to as a 426 small block just a 0.060" 340 (4.10 bore) with a 4" stroke? Yes I know it's really 422. That being the case there wouldn't be any difference in longevity between any of the 4" stroker small blocks since they will use the same compression height piston.
 
dgc333 said:
Isn't what is refered to as a 426 small block just a 0.060" 340 (4.10 bore) with a 4" stroke? Yes I know it's really 422. That being the case there wouldn't be any difference in longevity between any of the 4" stroker small blocks since they will use the same compression height piston.
Click to expand...

No, the one I'm talking about is the one that hughes are selling.
Which is for a 360 block only and has a 4.18"stroke.
 
If cubic inches is what your after why not think about finding a 400 big block and putting a 440 crank (mains turned down) in it and bore it .030 over. That'll give you 451 cubes. Use a set of mildly prepped 440 source heads on it. Should make 500 hp pretty easy with gobs of torque with the right cam. With the aluminum heads and intake it won't weigh much diff. than a stock all iron SB and you can probably build it for about the same price (if not less) than that 426 sb costs. A lot of guys think putting in a big block (even a low deck) is like shoehorning in an elephant but in reality it isn't that much difference to a small block save for the spark plugs being harder to access. The big advantage is the taller deck and short 3.75" stroke of a 440 crank will be a much longer lasting engine. Not to mention it'll most likely run better.
 
scrappy, strokeing anything will lower longevity. No way around it. How much shorter depends on the combo. A stroked B wedge (383/400) is good, until you get a shorter piston than 1.5"... Which is any stroke longer than 3.915 IIRC. Longer stroke than that means shorter piston because the deck is short on them. Stroke an RB and you have more room to play with.. But really, 1.5 or shorter pistons and you won't live as long as anything with taller CD than that. The 383 has a shorter stroke than an LA 360... I'd build a 360 if you are seriously going to drive the car another 50K miles with it.
 
moper said:
scrappy, strokeing anything will lower longevity. No way around it. How much shorter depends on the combo. A stroked B wedge (383/400) is good, until you get a shorter piston than 1.5"... Which is any stroke longer than 3.915 IIRC. Longer stroke than that means shorter piston because the deck is short on them. Stroke an RB and you have more room to play with.. But really, 1.5 or shorter pistons and you won't live as long as anything with taller CD than that. The 383 has a shorter stroke than an LA 360... I'd build a 360 if you are seriously going to drive the car another 50K miles with it.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks Moper.
I think you've convinced me to keep my money in my pocket and stay with the 360.
 
If you do go the 426 route i hope you can get more power out of it for less then the one someone was trying to sell last year,they had Hughes build them a 426 for like $19k it put out a whooping 600 h.p...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top