whats the price tag to stroke?

[69clone]

Hey guys,
I'm torn between buying a 440 with a mild build and building my own 400-440. I just found a 400 pop up in the area and thinking about checking it out. I'm just wondering what I would be looking at as far as cost goes to build one, besides the obvious stroker kit and top end parts... What is a rough est. on cost at a machine shop to fit a stroker in it? 440source says machine work is not always needed but I'm assuming it should be checked over anyways if it's going to make some power. Also with strokers in a 400 whats a good stroke for a street/strip car? I've always wanted the 512 (just sounds badass) but how is that for daily driving? I read the 470 strokers are a very reliable street stroker? What do you think? Is it all in the stroke, rod and bobweight?

Thanks guys,
~Nick

 

[moparpoor]

You are looking at $750 to $950 for machine work on the block.The 4.25 stroke tall or low deck are my personal favorites.You can build a flat top piston stroker short block for around $3000 to $5000 range depending on options and parts.Build the best short block you can afford.You can always change the heads,cams ,intakes and so on later.They make great pump gas street motors!!!

 

[john.thompson068]

Hey guys,
I'm torn between buying a 440 with a mild build and building my own 400-440. I just found a 400 pop up in the area and thinking about checking it out. I'm just wondering what I would be looking at as far as cost goes to build one, besides the obvious stroker kit and top end parts... What is a rough est. on cost at a machine shop to fit a stroker in it? 440source says machine work is not always needed but I'm assuming it should be checked over anyways if it's going to make some power. Also with strokers in a 400 whats a good stroke for a street/strip car? I've always wanted the 512 (just sounds badass) but how is that for daily driving? I read the 470 strokers are a very reliable street stroker? What do you think? Is it all in the stroke, rod and bobweight?

Thanks guys,
~Nick

How can you afford to daily drive a 440 with the cost of gas? With that said, I recommend the 512 because that is what I wish I had in mine since I only take mine out on weekends usually for short cruises. Gas consumption was one of the reasons I made a 440 instead of a 500 at the time because it was my only car, even though gas was only 1.79 for premium and I never had to drive too far from home in those days. A 496 would have cost me a 1,000$ extra. This was nine years ago when the 496 stoker kit and the 451 stroker in a 400 block was just starting to become so popular.

 

[69clone]

You are looking at $750 to $950 for machine work on the block.The 4.25 stroke tall or low deck are my personal favorites.You can build a flat top piston stroker short block for around $3000 to $5000 range depending on options and parts.Build the best short block you can afford.You can always change the heads,cams ,intakes and so on later.They make great pump gas street motors!!!

Thanks, thats what I was wondering...sounds like it's the way to go. mild 440 for 3k or a stroker for a little more that I can easily gain more from down the road.

How can you afford to daily drive a 440 with the cost of gas? With that said, I recommend the 512 because that is what I wish I had in mine since I only take mine out on weekends usually for short cruises. Gas consumption was one of the reasons I made a 440 instead of a 500 at the time because it was my only car, even though gas was only 1.79 for premium and I never had to drive too far from home in those days. A 496 would have cost me a 1,000$ extra. This was nine years ago when the 496 stoker kit and the 451 stroker in a 400 block was just starting to become so popular.

Your right, I should correct that it's not daily driven but both college and work are like 5 miles away when I do drive it and besides monthly car shows that's about all I do.. btw the stroker would be a 400 stroked to 512, not a 440. Thanks for your suggestions.

So i'm looking at: kit, complete engine, machine work about 3k + whatever cam, heads,headers and intake I decide on. Hmm sounds like a summer project.

 

[1badgtx]

You can get a short block already done up for 4 grand...
Petty Blue 67 gTx

 

[robinsonwr]

You are looking at $750 to $950 for machine work on the block.The 4.25 stroke tall or low deck are my personal favorites.You can build a flat top piston stroker short block for around $3000 to $5000 range depending on options and parts.Build the best short block you can afford.You can always change the heads,cams ,intakes and so on later.They make great pump gas street motors!!!

I agree with moparpoor. Currently, I have purchaced all needed parts to assemble my 440/512 project. I have been thrifty to try and save when I could. My parts list and rounded costs below:
Donor 440 and 727 trans out of run ning 71 New Yorker, $400.00
New Eagle Rotating Assmbly off Ebay, $1350.00
New 440 Source Stealth heads, $1000.00
New Comp 929-16 springs, 741-16 retainers, 611-16 locks off Ebay, $145.00
New Comp custom Hydraulic roller cam (230/236 @ .050 622/625 lift w/1.6
rockers), $350.00
New Lunati hydraulic roller lifters, $400.00
New 1.6 Crane roller rockers off Ebay, $250.00
Used Weiand 8009 Action Plus, $130.00

 

[Cranky]

Street car....how do plan to plant the power to the ground and how fast do you want it to be? If your car is what's in your avatar, you can mini tub it and use a 12.5W tire but you will have to move the springs in too to do that. I see many big motor cars that can't put the power to the ground because not much was done to the back end for traction.......which is good if you want a burnout car or something that will smoke the tires when it shifts into high gear when floored

 

[robinsonwr]

I agree with moparpoor. Currently, I have purchaced all needed parts to assemble my 440/512 project. I have been thrifty to try and save when I could. My parts list and rounded costs below:
Donor 440 and 727 trans out of run ning 71 New Yorker, $400.00
New Eagle Rotating Assmbly off Ebay, $1350.00
New 440 Source Stealth heads, $1000.00
New Comp 929-16 springs, 741-16 retainers, 611-16 locks off Ebay, $145.00
New Comp custom Hydraulic roller cam (230/236 @ .050 622/625 lift w/1.6
rockers), $350.00
New Lunati hydraulic roller lifters, $400.00
New 1.6 Crane roller rockers off Ebay, $250.00
Used Weiand 8009 Action Plus, $130.00

Understand that machine work is costly to the tune of $1000.00 + depending on what you are having done. To balance the assembly $250.00 if no heavy metal is being added. Around $200.00 to get block align honed. Vatting the block is a must. Assemble and blue printing runs into money if you are not doing it yourself. Depending on machinest/builder $750.00-1250.00 dollars.

 

[Meep-Meep]

A well built mild 440 is usually enough to put a smile on someones face but adding the cubes in the form of stroking is the most economical way to get the displacement up. With more cubes you can build a pretty mild 9.0:1 engine with a long lobe center cam and have it drive like a new car. Your max RPM will probably be limited to 5000 but what do you care? You will make in excess of 500 ft lbs of torque well below that! Also have good vacuum at idle for power brakes and still be able to rip off some good ET's at the track - with 3.23 gears. If you plan to have it running reliably for 50K miles or more then you should consider a cam that doesn't require a lot of spring pressure. For more info on what cubic inches can do research the guys building 500 Cad engines. The only substitute for cubic inches is more cubic inches.

 

[robinsonwr]

Everybody wants big horsepower but torque rules the street. Most 500" motors have no problem producing torque numbers above 600 foot pounds. we dynoed a three two, fuel injected, indy headed, 500" pump gas motor that made 640 ft lbs of torque at 4200 rpm and 638 hp at 5800. We only pulled the motor to 6000, customers request. Indy said the motor with single four barrel would make an additional 100 hp. There is no replacement for displacement!!!!

 

[451Mopar]

Building a stroker short block is pretty easy and not much more money than a well built stock stroke engine. All things being equal, the short block stroker may only cost about $500 more? Feeding the big engine can get expensive when going to high flowing cylinder heads with large roller cams and stuff valve springs, along with big intakes, carbs, and fuel systems.
I have a 500" stroked 400 in my Charger. It has the 4.15" crank, the 6.76" rods and the short/light flat top pistons. I chose this kit because I wanted an engine that can spin 7,000 RPM. The kit dropped in with just the oil pickup boss needing a small amount of material removed. The engine uses Victor max wedge heads with mild porting (12.4:1 compression), T&D rocker system, PAC valve springs,Ti retainers, spring cups, and locks cost around $3,500+ The Indy intake and 1,000cfm HP carb is about another $1,000+
Anyhow, by comparison, the stroker short block is not to badly priced.

Building a stroker for the street can be less expensive if you can settle for 550-600 HP?
The 4.25" stroker kits work great for the street where they don't see real high RPMs

I just finished my 505" stroker 440 (512 kit, but only 0.030" over so it is 505".)
This engine uses the 440 source 512 kit with 17cc dished pistons, and 7.1" chevy rods.
It also drops in easely, no bore notching, just the oil boss clearancing.
I'm using the older Stealth 84cc heads, so my compression ratio is about 10.3:1.
I did some mild porting and had my cylinder head guy do a performance valve job and flow a port, and the flow was right around 290cfm, and the low lift flow numbers looked pretty good (did not take much out of the ports.) This engine is a street build, so I am just using a mild Comp XR286HR-10 hydraulic roller cam with Hughes lifters, Isky 8005A springs and comp steel retainers and 10-degree locks. The typical Performer RPM intake, Holley Ultra street avenger 770 carb (for now, I want FI in the future), and TTI 1-7/8" headers.
For the street application I really choked the power down using the small carb, but the engine should still make around 550+ HP?

 

[robinsonwr]

I agree with 451mopar about the actual cost compared to basic rebuild. The expense will be relatively the same as far as machine work and parts. Basically you are buying a new crank. Most will replace pistons, rods, and internals when rebuilding an engine. The crank is the part that is mostly reused in a build. the reason for buying connecting rods is because getting a set rebuilt is just shy of buying a new set and in some cases more depending on whether you are having the beams polished and bolts replaced. Build what you want the first time within your budget.

 

[69clone]

Thanks everyone, a lot of great info from you all.
The car is my 69' satellite, I would like to mini tub it but saving that for later on.
My ultimate goal is to have it break 11's and get the front off the ground. (like my grandfathers 69' 383 Bee back in the day) Both of those seem easier to do with a lighter engine with a bigger stroke. The only up side I see with the 440 is the guy that has it is extremely knowledgeable, has built these many times and already suggested what parts he thinks I'd like... Besides at 3k it will be a complete running, carb to pan: labor, new parts, machine work all included. He guessed it would make around 425hp and 500tq? I know if I built a 400-512ci the price tag would be a lot more as I would be starting from scratch, needing headers, carb, intake,heads etc. plus 2k for the stroker kit...

 

[moparpoor]

Those horse power and torque numbers are no way enough to get you into the 11's.You can buy a 440 used and basically stock cheaper than 3g's.You are basically looking to purchase a stock 440 and adding a cam,intake,carb and headers.That will put you in the 450hp range easy.Take what you have in it now and add a little blue bottle express.Save the coin until you can afford something worth the work of swapping motors and all the other stuff that adds up in a hurry!!

 

[69clone]

Those horse power and torque numbers are no way enough to get you into the 11's.You can buy a 440 used and basically stock cheaper than 3g's.You are basically looking to purchase a stock 440 and adding a cam,intake,carb and headers.That will put you in the 450hp range easy.Take what you have in it now and add a little blue bottle express.Save the coin until you can afford something worth the work of swapping motors and all the other stuff that adds up in a hurry!!

Thanks, yeah I know that isn't enough, but he just threw out a number. I believe it should have more then that. I mean a stock 440 4bbl had 370hp? This one has 10.1comp (Keith Black pistons) 850 double pumper, 3" headers, Edelbrock intake, bigger cam, fully ported 452 heads, MSD, etc... but yeah I know my 318 has a good amount of power but I'll slowly piece parts together to begin the swap..

 

[robinsonwr]

Thanks, yeah I know that isn't enough, but he just threw out a number. I believe it should have more then that. I mean a stock 440 4bbl had 370hp? This one has 10.1comp (Keith Black pistons) 850 double pumper, 3" headers, Edelbrock intake, bigger cam, fully ported 452 heads, MSD, etc... but yeah I know my 318 has a good amount of power but I'll slowly piece parts together to begin the swap..

Sounds to me that you are starting from scratch. I would find a running donor motor out of something. They are out there and sometimes cheap like my 71' 440/727 out of a New Yorker for $400.00. I do not know where you are located but I have the 346 heads, rocker arms, rods, amd pistons off of it I could give you. I am keeping the steel crank to have offset ground for my original 361.