340 or stroker?

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340GTSDart

340GTSDart

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Haymarket,Virginia
Hello, I am new here and have a few questions. I have a 340 that spun a rod bearing and I will probably need a new crank as this one is already .020/.020. The rod bearing that spun is on #1 cylinder and that connecting rod is shot. The connecting rods are stock with ARP bolts. The whole assembly was balanced. I thought I might be out just a crank and a set of rods, but I have now seen that the pistons are scuffed pretty bad due to the metal in the engine and will need new pistons. First, are stock 340 cranks hard to come by? I will just buy a set of aftermarket rods as they don't seem to cost much more than a reconditioned stock set w/good bolts. Would I be better off with going this route or with one of the stroker kits out there? If I went with a 416 kit, would it fit in the block or would it have to be clearanced? I am currently running Edelbrock heads that are stock. Sorry for so many questions.
 
how did she spin that rod bearing? a stroker will work great but wont like the high rpm of a 340. just .2 cents. If you use the eagle capscrew rods with the stroker I believe that clearancing the block is minimal.
 
66dartman said:
how did she spin that rod bearing? a stroker will work great but wont like the high rpm of a 340. just .2 cents. If you use the eagle capscrew rods with the stroker I believe that clearancing the block is minimal.
Click to expand...
It spun the bearing due to laziness on my part. :x First, I had a set of "J" heads that had been milled so rough that they would leak coolant up through the head bolt holes and into the engine. This wiped the cam. Replaced the cam in the car. I didn't tear it down to clean it out, just changed the oil a bunch of times. Learned my lesson, everything is tore up now.
 
A 340 crank can be had through MoPar. It will need work. Balancing and such. It is cast, not forged.
A stroker will adds mounds of torque and bring peak power in sooner. The clearancing, if any, is a quick and easy thing done at the shop.
 
If you're buying a new crank and rods and pistons, a stroker kit will probably be priced the same as the stock stuff. Try muscle motors in michigan or mancini racing in michigan. They're the two I'd try first.

don
 
My '73 Roadrunner has the stock 340 block in it. It choked on a poorly installed wristpin on it's last rebuild. (Previous owner, thank you very much.)
Looking at replacing two rods, a set of pistons and boring the little sucker, I went stroker. I went with a one off solid lifter cam to take advantage of the lifter base and Comp roller rockers. What a combo. This sucker really screams. I have done a bunch of small block chevy strokers, and they don't even come close to this puppy. It has power anywhere you want it and it is all very streetable.

One thing to be aware of, and I learned this the hard way. Scat makes the 4 inch cast arm for Mother Mopar and it is too soft. Harden it, internally balance it, and roll over the unwitting. I built mine before there was a "kit" available. Muscle Motors and Mancini have packages that are very reasonably priced. I dealt with Mancini when I did mine and I think those guys are great. I also reccommend Hughes Engines, they have excellent packages also, and have a great selection of cams just for Mopars.

Kevin
 
Thanks for the input guys. I will check into the stroker kits that you all recommended. What would be a good cam for one? Right now I am running an old style Isky 310 hydralic cam. The old cam that wiped was a 310 Isky that my father-in-law (the original owner) put in, in the 70's and I called Isky up for another one. They still had the specs so they ground it. I guess this wouldn't be good for a stroker, or would it?
 
I had the same thing happen to me. I chose to stroke it. Definatly look at the budget you're willing to spent and go from there. I pieced mine together for about 1700 bucks for the rotating assembly/balanced and another 900 bucks in headwork and other parts. Now if I had 6 grand laying around, it would be a procharged 340 instead of stroked. I'm chose to run the comp XE 275 HL cam with mine. Cam specs out to .525 lift, 231 int. 237 ext. duration @ .050 on a 110 lsa. This line of comp cams (extreme energy hi-lift) was designed for the new small block strokers. Good luck with the build :thumbup:


That's funny, I've got 69 posts.:lol:
 
Are you looking to run fast with the stroker or just have a real powerful street engine.
Recomending a cam at this point is a little hard.
Hows about some info on your car starting with;
Weight
tranny
rear ratio
tire size
intended purpose

Also othe equipment you have onthe car. We know you said Edelbrock heads. What else on the engine, suspension, tranny and rear.
 
If you read the Mopar pereformance manual carefully you will find that the mopar engine as designed by Chrysler is far superior. Look and see how many companies have to support the Chevy powerplant with their aftermarket parts. I have built small and big blocks. I follow the factory guidelines. I have yet to blow one. E/SA at 10.50 is very fast. How many stroked aluminium headed motors can do that. Racing is about choosing the right parts and spending little. A complete blueprinted engine done by a very good machine shop is step one. Have a set goal. Check out what Stock and S/Stock car are doing with the 340. Their set ups are tried and true. You can save money by not spending lots of money on trick heads and carbs. This is where you can save money by porting and purchasing aftermarket carb. A stroker kit puts a lot of stress on a stock seasoned block. Get the Mopar Engine book and read it. You will save time, money and spend more time racing than rebuilding.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Are you looking to run fast with the stroker or just have a real powerful street engine.
Recomending a cam at this point is a little hard.
Hows about some info on your car starting with;
Weight
tranny
rear ratio
tire size
intended purpose

Also othe equipment you have onthe car. We know you said Edelbrock heads. What else on the engine, suspension, tranny and rear.
Click to expand...
It is a street car. It will see little, if any track time. The car is a 1968 GTS Dart. Weight, whatever it is stock, minus aluminum heads and manifold. The car ran real good for what little had been done to it. Engine is a .030 340, edelbrock heads that are box stock, Isky 310 hydraulic cam, victor jr. intake not port matched, 800 double pumper, 1 5/8" hooker headers, 2 1/2" exhaust. The pistons were Ross pt. #99625. The tranny is an A-833 4 speed and the rear is a 3.91 sure grip. Tire size, I'm not near the car, but it's a 70 series tire. The intended purpose is a weekend cruiser. The suspension is all stock with new polyurethane bushings and air shocks in the back. The torsion bars are cranked up and air shocks jacked up for the look that was cool back in the day.
 
6T9 GTS said:
I had the same thing happen to me. I chose to stroke it. Definatly look at the budget you're willing to spent and go from there. I pieced mine together for about 1700 bucks for the rotating assembly/balanced and another 900 bucks in headwork and other parts. Now if I had 6 grand laying around, it would be a procharged 340 instead of stroked. I'm chose to run the comp XE 275 HL cam with mine. Cam specs out to .525 lift, 231 int. 237 ext. duration @ .050 on a 110 lsa. This line of comp cams (extreme energy hi-lift) was designed for the new small block strokers. Good luck with the build :thumbup:


That's funny, I've got 69 posts.:lol:
Click to expand...
Are you happy with this cam? If not, would you go up or down in size?
 
I don't know the specs of the Isky 310 cam. But for a daily cruiser a 800 double pump and a Victor Jr. are not it. They work on a pumped up 400+ cid stroker. The 340 has got to be near race like for that set up. Or at least to take advantage of what it can deliver. The Edelbrock heads, box stock and small headers aer a restriction to the set up or just the reverse with the intake and carb. To much.

6t9 gts's cam is a mello one probably producing huge torque and respectable HP in his stroker. I myself would do a dual plane (RPM) and pocket port the heads. Have them well preped. I think that combo would work great in the street and do it all day.
 
what kind of rpms can a 416 stroker pull if its balanced, and has a callies crank, h beams etc.??
 
Callies crank, Eagle H beams, Shady Dell ported Edelbrocks, and a mild solid roller, Pro Gram 2 bolt caps, spins to 7K easy. It's been roaming southern CA for a year and a 1/2 now. Most longer storke engiens will make peak power well below that. So the question is not "how high willthey rev?" but more of "what shift point is best." In that case, some very strong, medium port headed 4" engines will make peak torque around 4500, and peak hp under 6500. Which is fine for a cast crank engine that was internally balanced, and had all the best machining as well. I would not compare any Stock Eliminator type engines to a usable street engine. Nothing internal is "normal" on them, and they are designed to make power in a very narrow power band, much higher than a street engine would see. A stock 340 type build, from 80% of the shops out there, will performa like a factory 340. Not a Stock Eliminator engine. Without mad gearing, and lighter trans parts, and the race ignitions and exhaust, they will be a slug in a street car.
 
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