Need advice on a 340 stroker engine

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xdrakk

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Hi All!

I have an original 72 duster that I am restoring with my father. We are wanting to use the 340 block as it is the original one, but everything else is up to be replaced. There is a ton of information out there, and I am not quite for sure the best path to go down so I am looking for some advice.

This will be a street car for the most part. Driven on nice days and to shows. I would like to get the most amount of power that is reasonable to money spent. I am not going to be taking it to the strip and racing it really on any level.

I was expecting to bore out the block and then put a stroker kit in so it would be closer to a 408 or 416 from what I have read. I was hoping to achieve in the 500 to 550hp or so.

I was planning on having a reputable shop here in the central Indiana area assist, but they moved their shop to a neighboring state and their quotes were very expensive. They are understandably expensive as they are very race oriented, but that is not really my objective.

The car will run on pump gas, probably 91 or so is what I have easily available to me. We will be using a rebuilt torqueflite 727 transmission with the Overdrive Gears attachment for better cruising at higher speeds. 3.73s are in the back.

I don't have a crazy budget, but I am happy to take my time and buy quality parts as I only want to do this once and then enjoy the car for a very long time.

I had read that Eagle makes a really nice forged rotating assembly as well as the Trick Flow 190 heads.

I have no idea on cam, rockers, intake or other items that I need.

I have no real experience with carburetors so I was planning on going with the holley sniper efi kit with the in tank fuel pump. I have read that the sniper kit has less maintenance and its nicer for driving, but open to suggestions on that.

I would love to hear some opinions, thoughts and recommendations on shops/experts that I could pay for services as well as we are planning on starting on the engine this year.

Thanks!
 
Ditch the sniper. Store the 340. Buy a Blueprint engine. Oh and welcome to the forum.
 
Sounds like you've done some reading and have a decent grasp of it. Since you are going to need heads and everything else to get to the 500hp number, the Blueprint stroker engine might be a good option and comes with a nice warranty. You can use TF or will need other decent aluminum heads that flow 275+cfm to give you best chance to hit the number but 550 is harder to get to and still keep mild-ish street manners that it sounds like you want. 450-500 should be achievable with about any aluminum head available these days that has been looked at by a pro. I'll let others comment on the cam but if you really want those numbers, you're going to have to have some lift and duration to get there. Figure .550+" lift and around 235-240 degrees duration for a ballpark. Solid flat tappet makes more power and have less risk with today's lifters. Don't expect a lot of vacuum. Depending on the cam, I think a good single plane intake has a better chance of getting your number on the upper end and the stroker won't give up much torque on the lower end where a dual-plane might be better.
 
Bodyperson said:
Ditch the sniper. Store the 340. Buy a Blueprint engine. Oh and welcome to the forum.
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Thanks for the reply.

I did look at that as an option. The only issue is that it is a numbers matching car, and my dad is the original owner. It has a lot of history as my family's car so it seemed a shame to swap to a different engine.
 
gzig5 said:
Sounds like you've done some reading and have a decent grasp of it. Since you are going to need heads and everything else to get to the 500hp number, the Blueprint stroker engine might be a good option and comes with a nice warranty. You can use TF or will need other decent aluminum heads that flow 275+cfm to give you best chance to hit the number but 550 is harder to get to and still keep mild-ish street manners that it sounds like you want. 450-500 should be achievable with about any aluminum head available these days that has been looked at by a pro. I'll let others comment on the cam but if you really want those numbers, you're going to have to have some lift and duration to get there. Figure .550+" lift and around 235-240 degrees duration for a ballpark. Solid flat tappet makes more power and have less risk with today's lifters. Don't expect a lot of vacuum. Depending on the cam, I think a good single plane intake has a better chance of getting your number on the upper end and the stroker won't give up much torque on the lower end where a dual-plane might be better.
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I figured Trick Flow would be great.

My hp goals are just goals. If I get to 500 and it is nice to drive on the street, I will be plenty happy.
I will do some additional reading on the cam. I was not for sure which type I needed. I was planning on also doing a power disc brake conversion kit. Would that affect the type of cam or anything with them being hooked up to the vacuum? The cam is the area I am least knowledgeable so any advice is appreciated.

Any thoughts on the Sniper kit?
 
xdrakk said:
Thanks for the reply.

I did look at that as an option. The only issue is that it is a numbers matching car, and my dad is the original owner. It has a lot of history as my family's car so it seemed a shame to swap to a different engine.
Click to expand...
That's why you store the 340.
 
As a long time member, and a professional engineer builder, the FIRST thing we need to know is what your budget is for the engine build. I will give you all the advice from my experience once you clarify that!
 
replicaracer43 said:
As a long time member, and a professional engineer builder, the FIRST thing we need to know is what your budget is for the engine build. I will give you all the advice from my experience once you clarify that!
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Hi and thanks for the reply!

I don't have a set budget necessarily. If I need more money, I will just have to wait a bit longer.

Currently, I was hoping to be around the 8-10k range with all the major components. Without the small-ish things like headers, water pump and so on. If it needs to be more, it will just take me a bit longer.

This was also excluding whatever I decide on the fuel delivery system, which I am still hoping for the sniper kit if anyone has any good experience with it in terms of reliability and drive-ability.

Also, if anyone has any recommendations of good shops in the Central Indiana region for the block work, I would be appreciative.
 
Bodyperson said:
That's why you store the 340.
Click to expand...
I don't have a great place to store it, and I would rather use it. If I did store it, I would most likely never put it back in and that would be a waste.

Once this is done, I want to drive it and enjoy it then move onto another project.
 
xdrakk said:
Hi and thanks for the reply!

I don't have a set budget necessarily. If I need more money, I will just have to wait a bit longer.

Currently, I was hoping to be around the 8-10k range with all the major components. Without the small-ish things like headers, water pump and so on. If it needs to be more, it will just take me a bit longer.

This was also excluding whatever I decide on the fuel delivery system, which I am still hoping for the sniper kit if anyone has any good experience with it in terms of reliability and drive-ability.

Also, if anyone has any recommendations of good shops in the Central Indiana region for the block work, I would be appreciative.
Click to expand...
Ok, the good news is, your goals are easily achieved within that budget, at least at my shop anyways. Dont rule out shipping your block to a shop, and have it shipped back when done. I do that all the time. Your biggest hurdle is parts availability, just like with everything these days!
 
In todays world if you wait to order things you better jump fast when they do become available. I saw that summit got so small block TrickFlow heads a few weeks ago and was surprised they lasted as long as they did. Then guys cry when they were sold. Lol there are vendors unlike JEGS that will order your parts with no money down.
 
I’m doing a similar build right now…340 block, now a 416. Eagle Forged Competition kit, forged h-beam rods, forged Mahle pistons.

I went with a hyd roller COMP cam 280/288, .541/.537 lift

CNC speed master heads with PRW 1.5 rockers. On the heads we changed the springs/retainers/locks to COMP

Air Gap intake and Holley Super Sniper

It’s going in my 66 Barracuda and hopefully done in 2-3 weeks
 
replicaracer43 said:
Ok, the good news is, your goals are easily achieved within that budget, at least at my shop anyways. Dont rule out shipping your block to a shop, and have it shipped back when done. I do that all the time. Your biggest hurdle is parts availability, just like with everything these days!
Click to expand...
I thought about shipping my block, but it seemed a bit scary to be honest. It seemed expensive and even more so on the way back with the rotating assembly all done as a for instance.

What does that type of pricing look like for your shop and where are you located?

I thought my budget was decent and could get some good parts. I just don't want to spend 2k chasing 20 horsepower, so I set my goals on the 500-ish range, hopefully more if its affordable.

Do you have any experience with the sniper efi kit?
 
TXOval said:
I’m doing a similar build right now…340 block, now a 416. Eagle Forged Competition kit, forged h-beam rods, forged Mahle pistons.

I went with a hyd roller COMP cam 280/288, .541/.537 lift

CNC speed master heads with PRW 1.5 rockers. On the heads we changed the springs/retainers/locks to COMP

Air Gap intake and Holley Super Sniper

It’s going in my 66 Barracuda and hopefully done in 2-3 weeks
Click to expand...
Please keep me updated on that. It sounds awesome, and it sounds very similar to what I was looking at.

Eagle forged kit, trickflow heads (190s) and the sniper.

Would love to hear your feedback on the sniper kit.

Did you go with flat top or dish pistons?
 
xdrakk said:
I thought about shipping my block, but it seemed a bit scary to be honest. It seemed expensive and even more so on the way back with the rotating assembly all done as a for instance.

What does that type of pricing look like for your shop and where are you located?

I thought my budget was decent and could get some good parts. I just don't want to spend 2k chasing 20 horsepower, so I set my goals on the 500-ish range, hopefully more if its affordable.

Do you have any experience with the sniper efi kit?
Click to expand...
Send me a PM if you want to discuss!
 
xdrakk said:
Please keep me updated on that. It sounds awesome, and it sounds very similar to what I was looking at.

Eagle forged kit, trickflow heads (190s) and the sniper.

Would love to hear your feedback on the sniper kit.

Did you go with flat top or dish pistons?
Click to expand...
Yes, flat top pistons
 
Like others said you will need some good flowing heads, high quality rocker arms and push rods, and big enough cam to let the large displacement small block breath. Otherwise it will be like a truck engine all out of breath at 4500 rpms.
 
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