The best stroker 408-416-426-435 combination in stock 68 340 block

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Pjs67Fish

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Hey everyone been cruising the forum for a long time but have never posted. So much good info, I waste so much time here.

Just looking for some opinions as building a new engine for my 67 barracuda this winter. The engine I just pulled is good running a stock stroke .030 over 68 340. I m having my closed chamber edelbrock heads (#60779) ported by Hughes to their S3, biggest they go that doesnt include relocating the pushrod tubes (2.08 int valves, full CNC).

When i built the 340 after I broke the original 273, i put a Hughes hydraulic roller in it (HER 4652ALN), approx. 235 duration @ .050 and .576 lift 103 LSA. I tried a couple cams, so I also have a very similar cam (lift/duration) with a 110 LSA I could use. But the engine never had enough cylinder pressure to run to its potential and putting aluminum heads on it didn't help. It went 12.80s @ 106 not bad, but i want low 11s. I switched to tighter LSA to try build some extra cylinder pressure (who hasnt in their youth bought a bottom of the page cam without having the parts to support it), but i decided that if i pull motor to put in higher compression pistons might as well drop in a stroker kit.

Unless I break something, I want this to be the last small block i build for this car. For argument sake lets pretend I have an unlimited budget but I limited to the S3 CNC porting on the edelbrock heads, a hydraulic roller cam, and stock 340 block. I will be getting forged parts. Street/Strip car, drive to the track couple times of year, it has a good rear, good transmission, and real expensive ATI torque converter, pump gas only, and i would like to put the A/C back on it if I can.

SO please everyone voice your opinion. Is 4in stroke kit better than a 4.125 kit? Hughes 426 kit has smaller wrist pins and rod journals, which i like (lighter right)? Should I buy a kit or piece it together? Who is the best place to get it? I beam or H beam rods? Victor Single plane or RPM airgap? How big a carb do you need for these strokers? Do I need to go to 3in exhaust from the 2.5 TTI system i have? Hughes main girdles worth having? What cam profiles are you guys running?
 
I'd put a proven 4" crank in it and go from there.

A decently built 500ish hp engine would be more than enough to get there. Don't need the huge cubes to get there.

Girdles are garbage, money better spent elsewhere.
 
For what you are doing I'd find a 3.79 stoke or even a 3.59 stroke crank. The more inches you have, the harder it is to fill the cylinder. I'm just not a fan of the 4 inch arm and I really don't think any more than that has any benefit.

The only problem is you can get a dozen stroke lengths for a Chevy. Now for the Chrysler you can only get 4 inch and longer. So you may be stuck with a 4 inch arm. I wouldn't use any longer than that.
 
Do you have vacuum brake booster?

Are you opposed to stepping up to solid lifters?

What's the octane rating of the pump gas i your area or what you want to run?
 
Very please with the 408; 4" crank and aluminum heads.
 
I can't help with cam selection but I will say that with those heads and a 4" crank (416) you shouldn't have any trouble hitting your goals. I'd go with an forged kit from Scat. It comes with H beam rods and I'd have your local shop balance it. Your TTI exhaust should be fine, but if you're going for the last tenth of a second, you might have to change it to 3". Good luck and keep us updated? Seriously?!? One post in six and a half years?!?! lol
 
I went with Scat 408 stroker kit for a 360 from Hughes. Been very happy so far.

20170909_223009.jpg
 
I'd go 3.79 and stud the mains and heads to destress the block.
 
Pascamp said:
I'd go 3.79 and stud the mains and heads to destress the block.
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I don`t know much about small blocks, and have never owned one. I do know of a couple of Chrysler small blocks around here that I HAVE SEEN RUN 10:80`S , one is driven to the track and usually goes on the power tour and does pretty well. Both barracuda fastbacks.
 
I went molnar forged 4" stroke.
Forged 4.08 dished pistons (icon)
Forged H beam molnar rods
Stuffed in my 340 block.
Cant complain about the rotating assembly.
I topped mine off with home ported w2 heads.
Now swapping for indy 360-1s
 
Neighbor got a 416 from Indy Cylinder Head in a 76 Volare' bracket car, runs mid 10's. Ran the piss out of it for about 5 years.Shifting at 7,000 rpm.Rarely did any maintenance. Installed it in a 72 Dart,saw that it was starting to smoke on the top end of the track(Knew it was time for a rebuild) but kept running it until it windowed the block.These guys are hard on their stuff. That is all I know.
 
I agree with Yellow Rose.A friend ran 11.5's with warm 340 in his duster.He installed a 3.58 crank,changed nothing else and ran consistent 10.5's
The 372 doesn't get the credit it desrves.Perfect bore to stroke ratio!
 
Personally, i would sell the short block to a restorer and build a 408 based off of a 360 short block.
You will be a lot of $$$$ ahead and the cores are plentiful and cheap if something goes wrong or you decide to build it even better.
Just my 2 cents...........
 
I like “square” engines (4.00” stroke x 4.00” bore). Call Rod Bloomer for the goods.
 
I think to get where you want to go is gonna take more than more cubic inches. What are your gears, converter stall, tires, rear/front suspension? What does the car weigh with you in it? What are your 60ft's? Truth be told, I've gone quicker/faster than your 12.80's/106mph with a "Teen". Some thing to think about.
 
No offense but the 340 should have been faster... So with the understanding that something was amiss there - "your results may vary"...
I've never signed on to Hughes' marketing BS, no would I use their flow numbers to pick a camshaft. Based on your comments I'd say their product has not helped you attain what you wanted or you'd not be doing what you're doing. So when the heads come in, have them tested by a 3rd party in order to get an idea of the cam you need. I would ditch the hydraulic roller cam. It's heavy and slow compared to a decent flat tappet solid. If you want roller, go all the way. Bush the lifter bores, and get a solid street-type roller. I'd stick in a decent forged stroker kit. As long as you stick with forged cranks the various suppliers are about the same cost and quality in small blocks. As for the rest: match the parts well; machine the block well (I am assuming this is a new engine & being fully machined by a performance shop - not the parts stuck in a block that was machined and ran as the 340). Then match the driveline well and fix the suspension issues you have/will have. Do those and it will do what you want and last just fine.
 
11.6 at 116 thru the 2.5" edelbrock muffs with a 4.06" X 3.48" street and strip low budget going on 22+ years shifting at 7000. j e 11:1 pistons, welded 340 steel crank by E. Jones, blueprinted stock rods with moparperf. bolts and an oil hole on top, oil blocked to driver side lifters, comp 20-249-4 cam in at 107*, 11/32" Manley 2.055" valves in ported by moi J heads cut .020". LD340 intake, and 750 avs from Englishtown swap meet $100. 4.56 gears. what rear gear do U want to run and how high do U want to shift at?
 
My 2 cents is;

The smaller the engine, the higher & harder it will have to turn rpm’s. If the car is in the street, you’ll need a higher stall converter which may not be so pleasant in the street because the shorter stroke engine needs to spin higher or everything.

Now, on how large you go is a good question! The draw back to increasing the stroke is the piston is moving in the cylinder further. This is more wade and tear in the cylinder by compare.

Cylinder wear is a catch 22. A lot is also in its useage. And how much use and abuse.

It’s hard to argue that bigger is better.
Weigh the pro’s and con’s.
 
ir3333 said:
I agree with Yellow Rose.A friend ran 11.5's with warm 340 in his duster.He installed a 3.58 crank,changed nothing else and ran consistent 10.5's
The 372 doesn't get the credit it desrves.Perfect bore to stroke ratio!
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change from a 3.31 crank to a 3.58 crank and changed nothing else.....i hope he changed pistons....or milled the old pistons and cut the skirts on them....otherwise it wont work.
 
HER 4652ALN......

that would be a 246/252 @ .050 cam from hughes...that is how their label their cams.
 
My Eddie headed 367 went 12.9/106 with a FTH 223 cam and 3.55s @3650 pounds. The book says that takes 338 hp. My cylinder pressure IIRC was 185psi, but it mighta bin as high a 200, I'm not quite sure as that was about year 2001 or 2002. I can tell you that same engine went into the 30MPGs with a double overdrive,(A833od plus GVOD) Idling down the hiway at 65=something like 1500rpm.

So I have to agree, for some reason, your 340 was down on power.

That 223cam dropped lobes, and I moved up a size. I took 200# out of the 68, and in 2004,she went 93 in the 1/8th. But now with a different trans pkg.
Mr WallaceCalculator says 93 in the 1/8th is 115 in the qtr, and at 3467 pounds, that will take 403 hp. I haven't tried Qtr, cuz I don't care. It's just a 367 cuber.
Streeters rarely have the right gears to ET well in the qtr, And if you put them in. then first gear is kindof crazy on the streeter.. so that's partly why I don't care about Qtrs. Another part is ;I'm happy enough to know the potential of my car. And thirdly, I refuse to get caught up in the money-pit chasing ET. My car 60 fts in the mid 2.2s so that's gonna take some cash to fix, and then I don't see me hammering over speed-bumps anymore, and I love to tease those little tuner cars that crab-crawl over every little bump in the road,that slow down for every little turn, and can't drive certain streets cuz of the pot-holes. I just hammer over, under, thru, or around everything and slide around the turns at up to full-lock,with the engine sometimes screaming at 7200,just for the sheer enjoyment thereof. Let-R-Buck, Boy-O! . I'm not ready to give that up just yet.This is something I can do every day,all day long, and burn barrels of gas having some big two-gear/three-gear fun..
Anyway, I digress.
These 2nd gen V8 Barracudas are a lot heavier than some people realize. And you can't get them down to Dart weight, and still be streetable. So yeah I can see a stroker being an advantage somewhere after 85mph or so. And then who cares if she's a fat old fish. Let her be 3650 in street trim, lol.
Another nice thing about a stroker, is you don't HAVE to run the high cylinder pressures, like you do with a smaller engine, and that makes it easier on the old parts. But I gotta tell you 200psi sounds pretty good with a 292/508, and the dust clouds that spring up 3 or 4 feet behind the turn-downs look pretty cool.....and, but I digress again.
I hope you hit a home run with your stroker, And I hope the world lasts long enough for you to get a few good runs in, before the locusts come.lol,
 
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You
70aarcuda said:
change from a 3.31 crank to a 3.58 crank and changed nothing else.....i hope he changed pistons....or milled the old pistons and cut the skirts on them....otherwise it wont work.
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Probably welded and ground the steel crank,machined the pistons and balanced the assembly.He is a lifelong engine builder and mopar racer by trade.
He told me me he made no changes other than the stroke and dropped 1 full second...same heads,cam,intake.
His '70 duster is a drag car only.
 
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If it was me i would have somebody other than Hughes port those heads. Modern cylnder, Ryan at Shady Dell are two better options for sure
 
B3422w5 said:
If it was me i would have somebody other than Hughes port those heads. Modern cylnder, Ryan at Shady Dell are two better options for sure
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There all ready (CNC) ported.
 
IIRC, Hughes likes to knock the crap out of the floor on their cnc stuff. Not the best approach when porting.
 
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