what should i do?

[DustinsDuster]

so im getting the motor out of my grandparents' racecar, along with the aluminum Richmond 4 speed. my dilema lies here:

the motor has a hole in one of the pistons(but i have a replacement for it), and its been sitting for 4-5 years now, so no matter what, it needs to get rebuilt. i'm just not sure if when i rebuild it, if i should get a stroker rotating assembly, or stick with whats in it for now. normally, this wouldnt be a hard decision at all; bigger is always better. but the thing is, the motor has forged 9:1 pistons(perfect for pump gas), Eagle H beam rods(which i could re-use with a stroker crank and pistons), and a knife-edged/lightned 4340 steel crank.

i'm definatly on a budget, but with the other high dollar parts on the motor, there is no way im going to skimp on the bottom end. but spending that much on the bottom end will prolong the amount of time it'll take to get it built and into my car.

on the other hand, it'd be pretty cheap to build the motor with whats there, and see how much i could get out of a pump gas 360. the motor made over 400hp with a 2 barrel carb and smaller cam than im running now. im hoping with my carb(750 Mighty Demon), and a different cam i can get somewhere around 475-500hp on the motor. also, having a fully forged bottom end, i wouldnt be scared to spray 250hp worth of nitrous at it.

so what should i do? even if i go with the 360, i know i'll eventually go stroker anyway. and when i do, i could put that tough ass forged bottom end into my current 360 and sell it for some pretty decent money.

just because i want to brag about the set up a bit, heres some details:

Mopar Performance R3(race) block(good to 4.220" bore if its a siamese block)
Eagle 4340 forged, knife-edged, lightened crank
Eagle H beam rods(6.123" long)
Wiseco forged 9:1 pistons
ATI Superdamper
Mopar Performance W2 heads(300cfm intake flow capable)
Jesel valvetrain, stainless 2.02"/1.60" valves
Edelbrock Victor single plane intake
MSD distributor
the block has bronze sleeved lifter bores, and ARP stud fasteners everywhere

the Richmond 4 speed has a SFI approved bell housing and a hydraulic throwout bearing, so i wont have to deal with any clutch linkage.

ok, thats enough bragging for now. so yeah, back to topic, what do you think i should do?

[warchild145]

since you say you will eventually stroke it anyway why not do it now while it is out of the car? Might take alittle longer to get it in the car but for any future upgrades you will already have the bottom end finished and not have to worry about anything and i'm sure you will be happier with the results.

[Rollin on Dubs]

so im getting the motor out of my grandparents' racecar, along with the aluminum Richmond 4 speed. my dilema lies here:

the motor has a hole in one of the pistons(but i have a replacement for it), and its been sitting for 4-5 years now, so no matter what, it needs to get rebuilt. i'm just not sure if when i rebuild it, if i should get a stroker rotating assembly, or stick with whats in it for now. normally, this wouldnt be a hard decision at all; bigger is always better. but the thing is, the motor has forged 9:1 pistons(perfect for pump gas), Eagle H beam rods(which i could re-use with a stroker crank and pistons), and a knife-edged/lightned 4340 steel crank.

i'm definatly on a budget, but with the other high dollar parts on the motor, there is no way im going to skimp on the bottom end. but spending that much on the bottom end will prolong the amount of time it'll take to get it built and into my car.

on the other hand, it'd be pretty cheap to build the motor with whats there, and see how much i could get out of a pump gas 360. the motor made over 400hp with a 2 barrel carb and smaller cam than im running now. im hoping with my carb(750 Mighty Demon), and a different cam i can get somewhere around 475-500hp on the motor. also, having a fully forged bottom end, i wouldnt be scared to spray 250hp worth of nitrous at it.

so what should i do? even if i go with the 360, i know i'll eventually go stroker anyway. and when i do, i could put that tough a$$ forged bottom end into my current 360 and sell it for some pretty decent money.

just because i want to brag about the set up a bit, heres some details:

Mopar Performance R3(race) block(good to 4.220" bore if its a siamese block)
Eagle 4340 forged, knife-edged, lightened crank
Eagle H beam rods(6.123" long)
Wiseco forged 9:1 pistons
ATI Superdamper
Mopar Performance W2 heads(300cfm intake flow capable)
Jesel valvetrain, stainless 2.02"/1.60" valves
Edelbrock Victor single plane intake
MSD distributor
the block has bronze sleeved lifter bores, and ARP stud fasteners everywhere

the Richmond 4 speed has a SFI approved bell housing and a hydraulic throwout bearing, so i wont have to deal with any clutch linkage.

ok, thats enough bragging for now. so yeah, back to topic, what do you think i should do?

Dustin, i would be carfull, If its one of those pro lightend crankshafts, used in stock car racing, Im willing to bet its not recommended for over 500 hp, I know the Eagle Featherweight h beam rods are not made for over 500 hp either. And the stock car motor i built, had a bunch of lightweight stuff in it and most of it wouldint handle much hp because it is designed for 400- 500 hp duty. I also would be somewhat skeptical of the transmission. Because i know the trans that the guy i know was running also had lightend gears and low mass parts in it that actually comramized the integrity of it in 1st and second gear.

I would be carefull.

[DustinsDuster]

ive never heard my grandpa or their engine builder mention any of that, but its definatly something i'll have to look into. im gonna get the motor no matter what, it anything, i could throw that rotating assembly into my other 340 block, top it off my edelbrock heads and Air-Gap intake and have good 425hp-450hp or so small block to sell.

that does suck about the transmission, i guess i'll have to tear into it and see whats going on with it. my grandpa doesnt remember if it was geared differently or anything, but i dont remember doing any extensive work to it before just throwing it in.

thanks for the heads up though Rich, i wouldnt have known to check that stuff out until way further down the road.

[Scott]

My opinion, grab a cordless drill and a hone, get a new set of rings bearings and gaskets. throw in that new piston, slap on that trans and put it in the car and see what she runs like. depending on that lower end and how light those pistons are I dont know about the whole 250 shot on top of it but it would be fun as hell with a 4 speed I would imagine.

[Drifte]

wow this sounds pretty cool, you still got that mightymax? i bet that thing is begging for a motor swap. What motor is in your car now..and est hp. or potential.

[DustinsDuster]

My opinion, grab a cordless drill and a hone, get a new set of rings bearings and gaskets. throw in that new piston, slap on that trans and put it in the car and see what she runs like. depending on that lower end and how light those pistons are I dont know about the whole 250 shot on top of it but it would be fun as hell with a 4 speed I would imagine.

the 250 shot was just saying, "it's all forged, i think it could take it", but my mostly stock bottom end seems to take 125hp fine, i was thinking 175-200hp shot maybe, we'd have to see. one thing i think just about everyone could agree with; a 4 speed behind a V8 just sounds like a blast! and to make things better, i think i could still hook really well. i was pulling 1.74 60' times with 25psi in the tires and $9 O'Reilly shocks. just think; drag shocks, drop the pressure to 15psi and drop the clutch from 4500prm. mmmm, that sounds like a blast.


wow this sounds pretty cool, you still
got that mightymax? i bet that thing is begging for a motor swap. What motor is in your car now..and est hp. or potential.

its a Dodge Ram 50, but yeah, same thing. ive thought a lot about swapping in a V8 into that, but it's my daily driver. i'd much rather convert the 2.0 to a 4G63 and turbo it. thats why i'm always keeping my eyes open on cheap DSM parts. we'll see.

[DustinsDuster]

oh yeah, and right now, i have a 360 in my car. truth be told, im not sure if my grandparents' motor is a 340 or a 360. bore and stroke are different, so im not sure. either way, i have a spare 340 block sitting around, so even if it turns out to be a 360, i'll still have the other 340 block to throw the race motor's internals in. the 340 actually has the bigger bore, but with a shorter 3.31" stroke crank. the 360 is a 4.00" bore stock(4.030 in my car), but with a 3.58" stroke.

if i build a stroker, it will run a 4.00" stroke crank. 340 bore(plus .030 overbore) with the 4" stroke crank displaces 416ci. with the 360's 4.030" bore and 4" stroke, it ends up at 408. not that big of difference, but still, i'd rather have the 340 block.

by the times i pulled, we estimated the motor in my car right now is making around 400-425hp. with the race motor, i would hope for somewhere between 450-500 in current setup. with a 408/416, i'd want somewhere around 500-550. with good tune, and the right selection of parts, i dont think any of these goals are hoping for too much. any suggestions about that?

[Drifte]

i have a 4g63 motor at home :)

[DustinsDuster]

we'll see, when i get to a point where id have time and money to do it, i might get ahold of you.

[DustinsDuster]

seriously, no one else has any opinions?