strocking a 302
 

My 17 year old son has a 67 with a good running 289 in it and a rebuilt C4, disc brakes, 9" rear. He came across a complete 302 (68) and is in the begining phase of rebuilding it. He's torn it down and gotten prices from the machine shop. WE would like to know more about stroked motors. We understand the principles. Should he just go ahead and stroke it now since he's going this far already? How much more HP will stroking it give him? Is it a good dollar to HP move? And any pros or con's on either the 331 or 347 would be nice.
Thanks!
Tony and AJ

Are you planning any other modifications, such as aftermarket heads, cam, carb and so on, or are you just planning to reuse all the other stock parts?

Ron

Yes he planning on after market heads, intake, carb, cam etc..

Everything else being equal, longer stroke brings more torque and also brings hp range down.

The argument of a 331 vs a 347 has been around for a long time. It all depends on who you ask as to which one is better. If a daily driver, most people will say a 331. If they want more power and it is a racing application, most will say a 347. (There no replacement for displacement). If I was in your shoes, I would go ahead and stroke it now, since you probably have to replace most of the internals anyway. It will not cost anymore for the components. It is not out of reach to get 400 + HP out of a well built 331 at a nominal compression ratio, so you can still use pump gas. I found the best price for my kit at www.jdsperformance.com I would call, ask for Dave and talk it over with him. Let him know what you are planning and I am sure he can help you.

Ron

go ahead and stroke it now, i built a 306 about 6 months ago and am now kicking myself in the @ss cause if i would have spent another 300-500 dollars i could have had the 347 that i am building now. so in other words, he is going to want it in 6 months anyways so why not do it right the first time.

dont beleive all the myths you hear about 347 burning oil, i personally know 6 people with well built 347's and none have had any problems with the rod angle or oil burning issues

I sroked my 66 302 to 347 . Lot more torque.