First stroker build – could use some expert advice

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Demon 408 said:
First, welcome to FABO. Second, congrats on the recent "retirement" from Military. I'm just up the road from you, and if the weather was warmer (springtime) I would take you for a ride in my Demon to give you an idea of what a 408 can do in an A-body. A couple of items to consider; have you thought about using a later LA-360 (1989-1992), they came with the factory roller lifters. These are a good option for your type of build (mostly street with lots of torque). Second item, how about a set of iron RHS heads from a reputable builder like MRL or IMM Engines? Both are members of this board. Are you looking for a local engine builder/machine shop? I can recommend Magnum Machine in Chesapeake, great guys to deal with. Good luck with the build.
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Demon 408 - Thank you for your very generous offer to take me for a "test drive" in your car. I'm definitely interested when the weather improves. As you can see from my posts above, I haven't yet settled on a block, but I'll definitely consider a late model LA-360. Also, I'd like to go with Aluminum heads if possible to take some weight off the front end of the car, but I may go the RHS route if I don't find a good aluminum option. I'm looking at ported Edelbrock heads on the Hughes Engines website right now. Does anyone have experience with Hughes' Edelbrock aluminum heads? I initially considered purchasing a crate motor, then I looked at purchasing a short block from a shop like Shady Dell, IMM, or MRL - I understand that they are all top notch. My current thought process is that I might use one of these fine folks to provide heads and then have a local shop machine the block and balance the stroker assembly; I plan to do the assembly work myself. Thanks for the tip on Magnum Machine!
 
Dart Vadr said:
Dodgedude - boy, that's bad juju. Thanks for the head's up. Guess that's why Hughes sells their 5321-series hydraulic roller lifters with a lowered oil band.
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tried them also, still same result...this block is the problem, but had it up and running so went with a mechanical cam, non roller, and the MP lifters that have no oil band. Problem solved, but not what I wanted.
 
Also, another note on the 340 replacement block, had a buddy build one and then fought the drivers side motor mount for weeks, neither 318 or 340 factory will work. After many headaches, contacted MP for a 3rd time, turns out that you have to buy the "correct" mount from Schumacher. MP has no notes telling you this information that comes with the block. Just an FYI that you should inquire about at purchase. also had fitment issues with Dougs headers once the Schumacher mount was used. I would find a good "factory" 340 block and go that way myself, but be ware of the damned lifter bore issues.
 
dodgedude said:
Also, another note on the 340 replacement block, had a buddy build one and then fought the drivers side motor mount for weeks, neither 318 or 340 factory will work. After many headaches, contacted MP for a 3rd time, turns out that you have to buy the "correct" mount from Schumacher. MP has no notes telling you this information that comes with the block. Just an FYI that you should inquire about at purchase. also had fitment issues with Dougs headers once the Schumacher mount was used. I would find a good "factory" 340 block and go that way myself, but be ware of the damned lifter bore issues.
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Dodgedude - Great advice. I'm thinking that the 340 replacement block may be more trouble than it's worth.
 
dodgedude said:
tried them also, still same result...this block is the problem, but had it up and running so went with a mechanical cam, non roller, and the MP lifters that have no oil band. Problem solved, but not what I wanted.
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One fix for the exposed band is to have the cam ground with a smaller base circle.

For the motor brackets issue, weld a tab on a 318 mount.
 
I like the one you picked,if cruising is more important drop down to the next smaller VooDoo.
 
Demon 408 said:
Second item, how about a set of iron RHS heads from a reputable builder like MRL or IMM Engines?
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After much research, I think that I'm going to go with a set of IMM RHS heads as recommended by Demon 408 and Jimmer. I appreciate the tips that I'm getting from knowledgeable FABO members.
 
Speak with Brain about a reduced base circle cam as well.
 
Demon 408 said:
have you thought about using a later LA-360 (1989-1992), they came with the factory roller lifters. These are a good option for your type of build (mostly street with lots of torque).
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Demon beat me to it. I'm running a '90 roller lifter block in my build. I bought a used crate engine for $300 and sold all the parts that I'm not using, so I have $100 in a standard bore block. These blocks can be found pretty easily in trucks and vans of that era.

Your build sounds pretty close to mine. You can click on the link in my signature to see it.

If I didn't have a machine shop/engine builder close to me that I trusted, I would have Brian (OU812) do the heads and let him chose a cam to go with them.
 
Sorry for the delayed response. I'd run a cam minus 10*'s of what you listed.
A cam (any size) has a cruise rpm area. This area is about the rpm where it makes (or should) about max torque. The larger the duration, the higher up the rpm scale the power is made. Each cam has a basic operating rpm range as I'm sure you know although each manufacturer has a slightly different range and this will also change with the way it is ground.

Without getting crazy and banging your head on the desk trying to figure out every last detail. You'll need to break it down to simple first.

Re-entertain cams again. The stroker can knock 500 rpm off the power band.
Cruise rpm ranges start above the lower rpm listed power band range. I wish I could give you a number like 1,000 - 1500 rpm above the lower listed number but I can't due to each manufacturer's way of grinding there cams. Off the shelf cams can be looked at in this manor as a general rule of thumb.

To get an idea of this cruise rpm range, check out the on line catolog from Crane Cams.
There specs and such are not so readily transferred over to other brands / manufactures of cams though.

Another cam company to look at would be Howard's cams. They often grind there cams with a lot of lift. This would be good to take advantage of the heads high lift and flowing abilities.

You know what you want for a cruise rpm. Between the trans ratio, gear ratio and the tire size, this can be figured out. On line calculators help a lot.
Once this is a known, your cam choice can be narrowed down with the known target rpm to be in.
 
BrianT said:
Demon beat me to it. I'm running a '90 roller lifter block in my build. I bought a used crate engine for $300 and sold all the parts that I'm not using, so I have $100 in a standard bore block. These blocks can be found pretty easily in trucks and vans of that era.

Your build sounds pretty close to mine. You can click on the link in my signature to see it.

If I didn't have a machine shop/engine builder close to me that I trusted, I would have Brian (OU812) do the heads and let him chose a cam to go with them.
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BrianT - Thanks for the advice. I've been keeping an eye out for late 80's, early 90's 360 engine/block on Craigslist. My other option is a freshly machined 340 block that my brother has offered to give me. The story behind the 340 is that a local machinist built the engine, had cylinder head sealing issues (one of the heads had been welded) and then he immediately disassembled the engine and sold it for parts. I'm hesitant to accept the 340 block because it has already been bored .040 over and I certainly can't vouch for the quality of the machine work. I suppose I should take the block to a competent machinist and have it checked out before I make any decisions. Thanks to everyone for their moral support and advice as I work through these issues!
 
I agree. If you can get a good .040 340 block for free, it would be worth taking it to a competent machinist and seeing if it was usable. You would gain a few extra cubes too!
 
Rumblefish360 - Thanks for providing more detailed information about cam options. I'm looking at a few different hydraulic roller grinds from Hughes, Howards, and Lunati right now. I also ordered "Desktop Dyno 5" software to get a rough idea of how various components will impact the torque/horsepower curves of my motor.
 
I have the fast EZ-EFI 1.0. It runs fine with the 11-12 inhg of vac that I have, it was a little more finicky at 8-9 inhg with the previous cam.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Cruise rpm ranges start above the lower rpm listed power band range. I wish I could give you a number like 1,000 - 1500 rpm above the lower listed number but I can't due to each manufacturer's way of grinding there cams. Off the shelf cams can be looked at in this manor as a general rule of thumb.
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It would certainly be nice if cam manufacturers would provide multiple power band ranges based on stroke/displacement!
 
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