408 Stroker build

[undy]

Originally Posted by olddog

There are a couple well advertised cranks, and one of them has a nasty reputation for breaking. Several builders have said they will not use that brand. I cannot remember the brand so will not say. Do some searches and you will find what I'm talking about.

Also realize these days they are cast steel cranks. They are quite a bit better than the old factory cast iron cranks back in the day. There are things that can be done to a crank to increase strength. Radius verses a sharp corner. Grinding verses cutting. Shot-peen surfaces.

You definitely do not need a crank machined from a forged billet of steel. That's a lot of money better spent on the heads.

That's Eagle cranks that you want to stay away from. Brent has mentioned them in the same light several times.

[blykins]

For a street engine, you want the highest-flowing, smallest port volume head that you can find. I use a lot of the Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads for small blocks. Since you're starting from scratch with a new rotating assembly, it would be an easy transition since the TW heads require a different piston than the other heads.

Most of us buy heads bare so that we can custom assemble them to the camshaft specs and so we can adjust guide clearances, valve jobs, spring install heights, etc. It costs the end user a little more money, but it's essentially a custom head package. When I send cylinder heads out that I assemble, all the install heights are adjusted and measured, combustion chambers are cc'd, and the valve springs are set up to match the camshaft.

The camshaft is probably the most important piece of the engine. I absolutely abhor off-the-shelf cams as they are all made as universal parts, in the sense that you will find the same camshaft ground for every engine family. A SBF will not want the same cam as a SBC, which will not want the same cam as an FE. Going further than that, every cylinder head will require a different camshaft, based on intake/exhaust flow ratios, port volumes, and other specifications. The cam that will work for a 190cc AFR head will not be optimal on a 190cc TFS TW head. Compression ratios have to be taken into account. Rearend gears have to be taken into account. Engine vacuum has to be taken into account. If you call someone for a cam and their response is, "I have one that works well for 408's", then they are selling a "universal" camshaft. A correctly chosen camshaft should come at the end of a conversation where large amounts of data is collected.

As you can tell, I'm not really into cookie cutter engines.

My rotating assemblies consist of Scat crankshafts and rods, Racetec forged pistons, Mahle rings, and Clevite or Federal Mogul bearings. For the price of an off-the-shelf forged piston, I sell a complete custom that allows me to adjust the bore size in .001" increments, the compression height, the volume, and the piston ring dimensions. Not an Eagle fan at all, even with SBF stuff. There has been a ton of Eagle FE crankshaft failures as mentioned, and I've had more than a few Eagle cranks in here for other engine families that I have rejected.

For a street engine, a cast crankshaft is perfectly fine, along with an I-beam rod. An externally balanced crankshaft is fine too and it can save money on balancing.

I wouldn't recommend the TKO 500. The 600 would be a better choice in that you have a choice of overdrive ratios, and the 1st gear ratio is more suitable for a street engine. Pricing is going up considerably after the first of the year, so you may want to keep that in mind.

[tailpilot]

blykins....just the man I wanted to talk too.......I was going to give you a call today and realized it is Sunday (Im at work so i lose track of days) I am interested in ordering some parts off of you and having some work done but wanted to talk a little

[blykins]

I answer emails and the phone 7 days a week. Sundays are a little more crowded as far as schedules go, but I'll be free around 1:00EST if you want to call today.

[tailpilot]

Originally Posted by blykins

I answer emails and the phone 7 days a week. Sundays are a little more crowded as far as schedules go, but I'll be free around 1:00EST if you want to call today.

Sounds good.....