Building a 408 stroker

Just to chip in...
I stroked the 340 in my '73 Roadrunner with Ma's cast crank. I used Eagle I beam rods and Diamond pistons (a weight move). I spent something like eleven hundred bucks in getting the heads worked (and they do). The big choice was in the cam. I went with a custom solid from Comp using two tight lash Ford profiles for a dirt track car. It's .540 on the intake and .549 on the exhaust. The duration is 242 intake and 247 exhaust @ .050. It's ground on a 108 seperation +4. I use Comps Magnum rockers and Smith Bros pushrods. (I am going to buy another set and chrome plate them to hang over the mantle, I love them to death.)

So, with my 3.23 open rear and 727 tranny, I had Continental build a converter. I would reccommend them to anyone. Don't ask me what the stall is, I told 'em what I had, they built it, I forgot to check or ask what the stall was, it works great. (Sorry, I am getting old).

The results? This thing pulls HARD. It has a torque band like a table. The Idle is rowdy, but not unliveable, due in part to the extra cubes. I still use my factory power brake booster with absolutely no ill affects. It sounds like nothing else out there and I will swear by this combo. I am currently running a Holley Strip Dominator single plane, but I am considering swapping over to a RPM Air Gap. We'll see....

The down side....
This thing cost about five g's to put together. Now bear in mind, I had to tear it down twice. Why? The first time, after initial break in and dialing, it tossed the crank on the seven mile trip home. The mains just flat went away. I had the crank tested and found that they were too soft. FYI, Scat makes the cast cranks for Ma' Mopar. Although admitting nothing wrong, Scat did sell me a replacement for a little over a hundred bucks. Three months after that, I lost a lobe on the cam. Most likely my fault, who knows, it's just cars. I am now tearing down again after four years for oil consumption. Diamond likes big clearances on their pistons, I guess I will have to work on this a bit more. Oh, that and it killed my 8 and 3/4 rearend. (Needed a 3.91 posi anyhow.) For the record, with the Thermoquad and highway gears, this thing managed 18mpg on the highway.

So there is my story on the stroker. Would I reccommend it? Hell yes. Would I do it again? In a New York second. (Maybe with Edelbrock heads.) This time out, I am punching it up to 421, adding TTI headers, and the posi. I'll let you know when it's done. Might be awhile, I am playing with my Valiant's suspension and brakes right now, so I have to concentrate the money thing.

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