Small block strokers

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1967 'cuda

1967 'cuda

Dropped on Head as a Baby
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I'm looking for advice on buying a stroked small block. It won't be long until I'm ready to swap out my 904 for a 727 and my 7&1/4 for a Dana 60. I'm currently running a mildly beefed '72 318 and would like to switch to a power plant that will have a substantial increase in HP. I would love to be running a big block but I want to take the easiest, quickest, and cheapest route that I can so that I can have everything done this Spring.

I know that if I order one of these strokers through Summit that I could have it at my door in just a few days.

ATK High Performance Chrysler 408 Stroker 430HP Stage 1 Crate Engines HP46 $5499 with free shipping

includes the following:

* Handpicked, remanufactured blocks
* Performance aluminum cylinder heads
* Nodular steel crankshaft and 4340 I-beam connecting rods
* Forged pistons
* 10.1:1 Compression
* Hydraulic flat tappet camshaft
* Cam Lift- .488 int./.491 exh.
* Cam Duration @ .50- 230 int./236 exh.
* Valve covers
* Timing cover and timing set
* Oil pan, pump, and pickup tube

(http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hpe-hp46/overview/make/plymouth)

The cost doesn't seem to be prohibitive and the advertized 430 HP is in a range I'd like to be. Is anybody familiar with engines from ATK? Has anybody else bought a pre-built stroker in the same price/horsepower range? If so, what would you recommend?

I've seen a few engines for sale here on FABO that I thought were really good deals, but they were running too much compression to use pump gas. My car is a daily driver.
 
Keep your 904, just build it up and you'll get more power to the ground.
 
1970Duster said:
Keep your 904, just build it up and you'll get more power to the ground.
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Before I'd done my research I'd always heard that the 904s couldn't stand up to much power. I'd already picked up a used race prepped 727 with converter from Texas before I found out that today most racers prefer the 904. Because I was going to have to make a new driveshaft when I swap rear ends it seemed like the opportune time to go to the 727. I wish the 904s and 727s were direct swaps so I could interchange them easily.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd also heard that it was expensive to build strength into the 904s.
 
430 HP is not a lot of power. The 904 would have worked OK for your application. The Dana 60 is also overkill IMO compared to a 8 3/4. Your fish will be lotsa happy with a good running stroker.
 
1967 'cuda said:
Before I'd done my research I'd always heard that the 904s couldn't stand up to much power. I'd already picked up a used race prepped 727 with converter from Texas before I found out that today most racers prefer the 904. Because I was going to have to make a new driveshaft when I swap rear ends it seemed like the opportune time to go to the 727. I wish the 904s and 727s were direct swaps so I could interchange them easily.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd also heard that it was expensive to build strength into the 904s.
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you heard wrong. those guys that told you that crap don't know what they are talking about.

904 can hold a lot of power with a quality rebuild by someone that knows what they are doing. no need for any exotic parts. just quality parts and a shift kit of some sort..
 
airwoofer said:
430 HP is not a lot of power. The 904 would have worked OK for your application. The Dana 60 is also overkill IMO compared to a 8 3/4. Your fish will be lotsa happy with a good running stroker.
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Ya, I realize that the Dana was going overboard, but it was my cheapest route to a 4.10 posi to replace my noisy 7&1/4. - Plus it gets the car a little closer to resembling a factory Hemi Barracuda. My first choice would have been an 8&3/4 but I didn't want to spend what people were asking for them. Most that I'd found were either single tracs, needing rebuilt, needing narrowed, or a gear change. The Dana cost me $300 before I had it narrowed and disc brakes added. I figured I'd have spent more on an 8&3/4 to start with and still had the same expenses narrowing it and changing brakes. - Plus I would most likely have had to shell out for gears.

The extra horses it takes to drive that Dana shouldn't kill it for the street.
 
abodyjoe said:
you heard wrong. those guys that told you that crap don't know what they are talking about.

904 can hold a lot of power with a quality rebuild by someone that knows what they are doing. no need for any exotic parts. just quality parts and a shift kit of some sort..
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I got scared off from the 904s after seeing pictures online of ones that had grenaded. But now that I've been looking online again, I'm seeing just as many catastrophic failures with the 727s. I guess if I'm really gonna worry, maybe I should invest in a blanket.

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I didn't mean for this to turn into a tranny thread. I still need input on those stroker motors. Has anybody purchased one?
 
Those pics are of 727s. The drum in a 727 is so large in dia that when a sprag lets go the drum speeds up beyond its RPM limit and boom. The 904 drum is smaller in dia, and can handle more RPM before coming apart. You rarely ever see a 904 come apart like those pics.
 
skrews said:
Those pics are of 727s. The drum in a 727 is so large in dia that when a sprag lets go the drum speeds up beyond its RPM limit and boom. The 904 drum is smaller in dia, and can handle more RPM before coming apart. You rarely ever see a 904 come apart like those pics.
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Ya, I specifically looked for pics of exploded 727s this time. After seeing everybody's feedback about the 904s, I'm starting to wish I'd headed in that direction. The way things stand now though, I'm sitting on a lot of 727 parts. I've already got that 'race prepped' 727 with 2 extra manual shift valve bodies (forward and reverse patterns), an as-yet uninstalled overhaul kit, and a stall converter.
 
upgrade the spraq and buy a billet front drum for your 727....and if you ever break a driveline part in 1st gear in a torqueflite remove trans to inspect sprag....otherwise boom...

never seen a 904 explode.......
 
1967 'cuda said:
I got scared off from the 904s after seeing pictures online of ones that had grenaded. But now that I've been looking online again, I'm seeing just as many catastrophic failures with the 727s. I guess if I'm really gonna worry, maybe I should invest in a blanket.

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the 727 is worse because that drum is so much bigger and heavier. its a ticking timebomb..
 
The Dana is not overboard. I did it first with my 318, and it is perfect with my 408. I have a line on a guy who sells them reasonably. Maybe he'll give a discount if I refer you to him. I paid $1850 for mine new with 4.10 gears and disc brake conversion with drilled / slotted rotors. It was all set with spring perches and bolted right in. The 904 would be fine. Crate 408 usually are in the high 300 to low 400 horsepower. I don't like crate motors because you can do so much more with a 408. The biggest 904 issue will be the 1:1 final, so give some thought into where, how much and how you will drive and choose your rear gears carefully. I have 4.10 and it was very hard to drive on the highway at such high rpm. I almost went to 3.55 before I went to an overdrive.
 
Mopar to ya said:
The Dana is not overboard. I did it first with my 318, and it is perfect with my 408. I have a line on a guy who sells them reasonably. Maybe he'll give a discount if I refer you to him. I paid $1850 for mine new with 4.10 gears and disc brake conversion with drilled / slotted rotors. It was all set with spring perches and bolted right in. The 904 would be fine. Crate 408 usually are in the high 300 to low 400 horsepower. I don't like crate motors because you can do so much more with a 408. The biggest 904 issue will be the 1:1 final, so give some thought into where, how much and how you will drive and choose your rear gears carefully. I have 4.10 and it was very hard to drive on the highway at such high rpm. I almost went to 3.55 before I went to an overdrive.
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I've already got the Dana for my car. Narrowed with Moser axles and non-slotted disc brakes it cost me (ready to drop in) a little over $1500.
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Although this car is a daily driver, it sees most of it's miles in town. I think I would have been happier with a set of 3.55s, but was willing to go with anything between a 3.55 to a 4.10.

If I wasn't in a bit of a rush to get this all done, I'd be more likely to build a motor from scratch. But with all of the other projects lined up, I'm looking for something I can drop in that will still run on pump gas.
 
I dont like crate engine
with all the horror story we ear

bad assembly
bad parts
main and rod bolt not torque correctly

scat kit arent so expensive
k1 either

just my 2 cents
 
1967 'cuda said:
I've already got the Dana for my car. Narrowed with Moser axles and non-slotted disc brakes it cost me (ready to drop in) a little over $1500.
View attachment 1714705767
Although this car is a daily driver, it sees most of it's miles in town. I think I would have been happier with a set of 3.55s, but was willing to go with anything between a 3.55 to a 4.10.

If I wasn't in a bit of a rush to get this all done, I'd be more likely to build a motor from scratch. But with all of the other projects lined up, I'm looking for something I can drop in that will still run on pump gas.
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You got a good deal on the Dana.
 
I built my own. Nothing fancy just quality parts bolted together. Eddy heads stock out of the box, forged eagle crank, srp dish top pistons, scat I beam rods, lanati voodoo flat tappet hyd cam, air gap intake. Carb to oil pan, new electronics, everything arp inside and out. About $8000. I could have saved a few dollars here and there. I wanted to start with a bare block and go from there. It's going in my swinger in the next couple of weeks. I like the 727 over the 904. My opinion. You do have a lower 1st with the 904 and less rotating weight. My car is a street car that I don't mind drag racing but the street is where it will spend 99% of its time. I'm running the 8 3/4 but dana's in a bodies are cool. Find a good machine shop and build your own or buy a short block from someone like Indy and bolt what you want on it. I'll let you know how it runs.
 
crazy 340 said:
I dont like crate engine
with all the horror story we ear

bad assembly
bad parts
main and rod bolt not torque correctly

scat kit arent so expensive
k1 either

just my 2 cents
Click to expand...

Now this is what I'm looking for. Anybody with advice pro or con on crate small block strokers. I've always assembled our own motors after getting them back from machine work. Unfortunately the machine shops that I'm used to doing business with can take several months to get the work done. That's the reason I'm looking into getting a crate motor now. I know a person can find horror stories associated with just about every business, including machine shops. Does anybody have crate motor companies on their 'to do business with list' or 'to avoid list'?

It can be difficult to do the legwork needed to pick companies to do business with. If I were to rely solely on the customer revues sections of their web pages, I'd never hear anything negative in the ones included on their sites. That's why I'm here. - Hoping that some of you guys can steer me towards the good places and away from the bad.
 
russhal said:
I built my own. Nothing fancy just quality parts bolted together. Eddy heads stock out of the box, forged eagle crank, srp dish top pistons, scat I beam rods, lanati voodoo flat tappet hyd cam, air gap intake. Carb to oil pan, new electronics, everything arp inside and out. About $8000. I could have saved a few dollars here and there. I wanted to start with a bare block and go from there. It's going in my swinger in the next couple of weeks. I like the 727 over the 904. My opinion. You do have a lower 1st with the 904 and less rotating weight. My car is a street car that I don't mind drag racing but the street is where it will spend 99% of its time. I'm running the 8 3/4 but dana's in a bodies are cool. Find a good machine shop and build your own or buy a short block from someone like Indy and bolt what you want on it. I'll let you know how it runs.
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So you would recommend Indy. Thanks.
 
mderoy340 said:
call Mike at MRL
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Thanks, mderoy340 - I took your advice and did call MRL. After talking with Mike, I was pretty impressed by what all he had to say. The HP he is talking is closer to the 550 range. - Which is great! But he's also talking close to $3000 more than I'd like to spend. But he's also talking about a better build that includes a roller cam and other higher grade components. I'm still on the fence. I really didn't want to spend that much. I've either got to convince myself to bite the bullet on it or keep looking for a less expensive option.
 
I would not buy an assembled engine or short block from Indy there customer service is horrible if there is an issue you will be stuck with it. And there usually is issues with their stuff....
 
340sFastback said:
I would not buy an assembled engine or short block from Indy there customer service is horrible if there is an issue you will be stuck with it. And there usually is issues with their stuff....
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340Fastback, I haven't talked to Indy yet. What types of issues have you heard about?
 
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