[Guest]

should i go with a 331 or 347 stroker kit in my 1965 mustang gt. im building and engine from scratch on a brand new 302 ho bare block. i eventually want around 400 hp. who makes the best kits? i have heard probe makes good ones. should i buy a kit or mix and match?

 

[sharkmouth]

neither....try a mild 351w....getting to 400HP with a 351w will be considerably cheaper and it will make that power in a rpm range that won't sacrifice durability (strokers frequently use offset ground cranks and pistons with short heights that either compromise ring land durability or cause extreme side loading (due to crazy rod ratios and such) that wears cylinders out sooner.....I'd be willing to believe a 351 stroker probably fares better than a 302 stroker.....larger dimensions in the basic structure to work with!!

 

[Guest]

go with a kit ...

I think Central Coast Mustang sells the 347 stroker kits and others....of course.

400 hp easy to get in a kit these days if you got the moola.

Fastlane Ford

 

[kketell]

I am inclined to agree with sharkmouth. My experience with strokers has been less than satisfying.

With proper induction you can pull 400 HP out of a non-stroked 302. It would be even easier with a 351w though.

 

[sharkmouth]

KKTELL, the phrase at the end of your posts crack me up!!! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Guest]

The 347 vs. 331 vs. 351 has been going on for a long time. One question to ask is what are you planning the car for. Daily driver, street strip or mainly strip? I found my best prices at www.jdsperformance.com. Speak with Dave there and see what he recommends. They put together a 347 kit for me in the HP range I wanted. I believe FPS now makes a kit with the pin moved out of the ring land area, if that is a concern. JD's delivered on time, and the kit was complete. No additional call backs. It will be an easier fit in the engine bay, which is why I went 347, plus I re-used the heads, intake and headers off my old 306.

Ron

 

[blkfrd]

I would do a 331 stroker. You can get this kit with pistons that have the pin BELOW the oil ring land. 347 strokers have very short pistons with the pin in the oil ring land and oil consumption and piston rocking can be a problem. Probe has a 347 kit but I believe they use 5.315 rod and the rod to stroke ratio is even worse than a 347 with 5.4 rods. Don't get too hung up on rod ratios. Can the VMF community name a few well known engines that have WORSE rod ratios than the 347? How about the 455 pontiac or the 454 chevy.

Something that i'm exploring is the following combination: 3.25 stroke crank, 5.155 289 rods with 11/32 ARP bolts and shotpeened and small end opened up .015 and chromed for a floating pin, and KB322 351W pistons (designed for the 383W stroker). Rod ratio is the same as a 347 stroker setup. This combo gives the combined deck height of .015 below the 302 block (perfect for zero decking) and it uses a fairly NORMAL piston with the pin in the right place and a long skirt (less rocking and more area for the side loading to spread out on). The piston also provides a compression ratio of 9.8:1 when using 351W Powerheads (local shop that CNC ports iron heads and installs large valves). I'm just looking for a street car driven maybe a few times a week and occasional trips to the strip. I'd be happy with high 300s in HP and torque (uncorked) and RPMs that won't exceed 6500.

I'm investigating this setup with a local old time racer who's helping me with the engine. In the old days, they used to stroke 289s to 327s and they didn't have a lot of choices for rods.

 

[beechkid]

for longevity a 331, for more fun 347! "Hank the Crank" in LA (deceased no I think) was stroking engines long before most of us were born and there are many ways to accomplish it successfully, but I've never had alot of faith in "Kits". You might try Kelly's block welding service in LA (actually a very good machin shop) and he can direct you to a good crank builder.