331/347/393/408? Advantages and Disadvantages....

[BaLListic]

I have some questions here... Here is my starting point tell me what you would do.. I have a 302 HO block Stock bore... I am going to build a stroker motor of some sort just am undecided... Basically im starting from scratch except for the block. Should i build a 331/347 or 396/408? If one of them is a choice which one of the two? basically im looking for a high horsepower Street Corner carving car.... The cost difference between the two isnt that big a deal... being that i need everything anyway....

[420nitro]

What is that little thing people say....NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT!
But any way, look at it this way, if you want to be N/A, then run as much displacement as you want, why stop at 408 when you can go to a 418,420,427. Remember when you're running this big you can run these big heads (TFS'R, AFR 225, AFR 205) with a matched intake and have all the power you need and have no need to shift over 6,000 rpms, on pump gas kicken ***! Too have the same torque in the same power band with 331,347 you will most likely need a blower to keep it on pump gas.
Anyway, I say do what makes you happy, and have fun! My vote is to make it at least a 408.
Good Luck

[BaLListic]

any idea how much power your making on your setup? is it a street setup... and has it been reliable so far???

[420nitro]

Originally posted by BaLListic
any idea how much power your making on your setup? is it a street setup... and has it been reliable so far???

I was told it should make approx. 550-575 h.p. Have over 500 ft. pounds of torque from 3000-6000 rpms on pump gas. No problems yet with the engine, just having stupid problems with the transmission. I was told that, it should not have any problems with the engine except normal wear & tear. Most likely need to have the engine freshen-up after 3 seasons, depending on how much nitrious I apply.(150-250)
If I dont spray it, it should last longer, but just so we are on the same page....this is not something I planned on driving on a day-to day basis. If you wan't specs I can tell you later, so you can get a better understanding.
Later

[420nitro]

Originally posted by 420nitro
I was told it should make approx. 550-575 h.p. Have over 500 ft. pounds of torque from 3000-6000 rpms on pump gas. No problems yet with the engine, just having stupid problems with the transmission. I was told that, it should not have any problems with the engine except normal wear & tear. Most likely need to have the engine freshen-up after 3 seasons, depending on how much nitrious I apply.(150-250)
If I dont spray it, it should last longer, but just so we are on the same page....this is not something I planned on driving on a day-to day basis. If you wan't specs I can tell you later, so you can get a better understanding.
Later

Oh yea,... if for one second I believed that I was never going to spray this thing, I would've put a Tremic TKO II in it and drive it on the street everywhere!!!!

[USMC302]

Be sure to have a speed shop test the block before you go getting it bored, my speed shop told me about core shift, basically the core of the block was just barely off when made, it turns out it is 9 thousanths off on 3 cylinders, so if it's bored out, it will be worse. Having to find a new block now. He also told me that most of the sportsman blocks you order are like that too. Sonogram and magnaflux should only be about $50-$75.

Oh, my vote is 331 cause it hasn't been around that long, plus I'm gonna turbo it to death. 15psi!!!!!

[BaLListic]

but i feel on a stock block a massive turbo setup would cause a block failure...mmmm maybe i dunno at this point im not sure what im doing... Thats crap the sportsman blocks are like that too....

[USMC302]

Thats crap the sportsman blocks are like that too....

Well, this is the first I've ever heard of it, but the speed shop is pretty highly recommended by some NMRA and FFW competitors.

[420nitro]

Ok lets cut out all the bs. How much money are we talking about here.
Got to pay to be the boss

[jonnyk]

Additional things to consider about a 351W....
Lots of the blocks aren't hydraulic roller ready, so you'd have to convert to run a hydroller cam if you wanted to.
Distributor for EFI...gotta find something to work here.
New hood for EFI and possibly carb...clearance with the taller deck height block may become an issue.

You want a corner carver? Adding 100 pounds to the front end isn't going to help you turn.

With that being said, if I ever did it again I would for SURE build at least a 408W stroker. Ideally, I would up the funds for a Dart block and run a big bore 4.155" setup for 434 cubes. You could make a huge amount of power with more cubes and not need a power adder.

If any of my above points scare you, I would then look at a 347. Well engineered kits such as Scat, Eagle, etc. with a good piston in them, will be plenty strong and be a great foundation for making power. You can run a fair bit of boost into a stock block setup and not have problems.