460 stroker

With the new 79' sitting in the driveway I've been kicking around another 460 build. Doing a little reading I came across an interesting article on the 540 stroker using stock parts. Now let me be the first to admit that a .140" overbore is a bit much in my book and I really don't want to lay out the bucks for a freaking sonic check but since most of the displacement gain comes from the stroke not the bore the difference between that and .030" is negligible & I6/240 rods are pretty cheap (although I *would* use ARP rod bolts). I've just started to look into it all and it'll take me awhile to set aside the cash (replacing the damn roof won't be cheap ) but I thought it was worth reading & figured someone else might be interested even if it was just for informational purposes. It's an old article & with what a Chinese sourced stroker kit currently costs that would probably be the way to go compared to custom machinework but I've always thought it was interesting to see what could be done with factory parts combos.

Assuming it's a ****** block any 429/460 can safely go to .060" but again, the gain is so small that I'd prefer to use just the minimum needed to bring the bores back into round.

I have found some 460 strokers at (Ford Strokers.com)They range around 1500 for the 520stroker and I cant't remeber off the top of my head what the 540 costed.I want to say it was less than 2000.The cool thing is that You can stroke a 460 to 572 inches with out having to notch the block.Ford Strokers.com is where I orderd my 427 small block stroker for my bronco.

I completly agree, the gain from boring it out is almost nil, I'd rather have the extra meat for a later rebuild too. I've got a book on stroker kits but im not sure if it covers the big block engines, might only be the small block V8's. some point in the future I'd like to build a stroker out of the 351 block ive got sitting thats nearly brand new, I've got a 400m crank that's in good shape, and I have no intention of boring the block any more that absolutly nessecary, so it'll be a 400W instead of a 408, honestly i doubt the extra 1 cubic inch per cylinder will make a damn bit of difference.

I don't know how much that 1 inch would make.I am only running a 493,500 lift cam in my 427 and it makes a good bit more torque than the 351 that was in it.I ran into a few snags that you may or may not run into on a 408 stroker.I had to grind on the oil pumpsome for it to clear the crank. Then one of the rods were hitting the oil pan so I had to take a hammer to the pand to knock it out.That sucked cause it was a new pan.I am going to swapp cams later this year.I am triing to reach the 400 to 450 mark and I will be happy.

Making torque is what stroked engines are best at. The additional stroke shows up as torque. After looking into it a bit more I just can't see the need or justify spending the extra cash to bore to .140". Beyond the cost of the sonic ck you put yourself into custom piston country which has to add at least an extra $400-$500 on top of the ultrasound work. The 545 kit is looking pretty good. I'd like to minimize the overbore & stick with .030' (assuming the block cleans up there) which would net a 4.39' bore, use a 4.5' crank and it's a 545 without mods to the block or wailing on the oil pan. I looked at the junkyard down the street last week & they had one but it was an older Lincoln carb'd engine with a D1VE casting #. Since I'm going to run with the stroker kit I'd like to get one of the late production D9TE blocks since the cylinder wall on those is .250' longer/deeper than the other castings & that'll give the piston skirt better support (I'll still be able to run a 4.5' crank & 6.7' rods without notching the bore) and I'm starting to think that maybe finding one w/the factory EFI wouldn't be so bad, especially with an aftermarket box & harness to run it with.

madmax said:

, I've got a 400m crank that's in good shape, and I have no intention of boring the block any more that absolutly nessecary, so it'll be a 400W instead of a 408, honestly i doubt the extra 1 cubic inch per cylinder will make a damn bit of difference.

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Not that this *can't* be done but have you looked into it yet or priced out your options ? While yes, the bore spacing & main journal sizes are the same the 400 crank isn't a drop-in. The crank throws on the 400 are larger so you'd need to ether clearance the block or shave down the counterweights (if you shave the crank then you *really* need to have the rotating assembly balanced) and the crank snouts are different so the 400 crank would need to be turned to match the Windsor. By the time you finish with the machine-work you've spent more than what a Windsor stroker kit would cost.

I've got a good friend who can do the machine work in his spare time. however if i do come across one thats already modified to do what i want, well all the better.