Hey fellas, new to the forum and wanting to get a few ideas. Heres what i have, i have a LA 360 that has the J heads on it. Well not good enough for my 73 Cuda. Im wanting to build a healthy 408 stroker. Its gonna be more of a weekend fun car, occasional trips to the track. OK here is what im thinking. Im thinking of going with a stroker kit, rods, pistons, and crank. Im thinking i may use sealed power slugs in it, prolly forged, and if its in the money some h-beam rods not to sure yet. im thinking at this point im going to keep a cast crank. im thinking keep the J heads but put the big valves in them and get some work done on them. and looking for a good suggestion on a cam. would like to build a budget 408, something fun on the weekends to walk a few kids in their tuners, but still not just be a strip queen. thanks for any input. would love somewhere around 500-550 range.im also kind of leaning toward the mancini racing stroker kit that externally balanced and forged. thanks in advance

 

cam, how heavy is the car, and what gears are you planning on usiiing?

 

Looking for ideas on a cam. Stock weight cuda. And Probably 3.73 gears maybe 4.10

 

go to comp cams web site and down load thier engine simulator, its very easy to use, and gives you cam options also tells you what converter, gears, carb, compression ratio would be best for your engine,

 

picked up a cam off a buddy today, its a hydraulic flat tappet, 480 lift with 284 duration, also picked up a set of already ported and polished and big valved j heads, for a steal today, now just trying to figure out what intake and carb i should run. any suggestions

 

what is the cam? can you give manufacture and part number? that cam comes in around 23-2500 im guessing, but from what you gave a single plane would be what u want, to take advantage of that cam, carb whats your preference?,
its a big small block and light car id think you would be ok with a mechanical secondaries.

 

Ill get thepart number after while. It's a comp cam. Is a 650 big enough?

 

650 is plenty big,

 

a fella has a holley 8051b. im wondering if this would be a good choice or not.

 

that is i beleive a 750 single pump vacuum secondary,, its a very good street carb,
there should b more numbers on the carb, if so what are they?

 

few more questions, like i said im thinking i will go forged rods/crank/pistons. i wanna make some good horse power so i want a higher compression ratio. im using the 72cc j heads with the 2.02 valves and port work. what pistons would everyone recommend?? i would like to run like a 10.5 to 1 cr if possible. also what intake are most running with their dang strokers on here.

 

forged, depends on what exactly you want to do with the engine, if you want to add no2 later on, any forged pistion will work as long as the no2 shot is under 200hp, if you want to go higher shot of no2 then pistions with a lower ring landing is in order,

if you never plan on running no2 (nitrous) then a set of trw will work just fine,,
if you buy a kit they usually come with a good set of pistions, ross/kb/wiesco

 

I understand all that. I know m going to run a full forged rotating assembly. My question is with a 72cc chamber how can I get my compression around 10.5 to 1. I don't want it lame but still wanna run pump gas. Still thinkin I may run a Eddy performer rpm intake. Any thoughts on that

 

thats gonna be tough with out knowing what rods, stroke, wristpin to top of piston, bore, do you know what stroke you want?

your gonna base it off of the 318? or the 360 that you have?
got to know all this first, then you can get into rod options and pin height of the piston. to get you comp ratio, im not trying to be a pain in the butt, just need more info,

 

I would talk to Mike at MRL Performance (www.MRLPERFORMANCE.COM) He kowes his stroker %#it!!! As for a carb... Call Jesse at Biggs http://bigsperformance.com/ he can set you up with a carb.

 

i hear ya, im basing it off my 360 i have. currently im looking at the mancini racing kit thats forged everything. i dont really know what stroke that is off the top of my head though.

 

well fellas, had a baby not to long ago so the motor took a backseat. also relocated up to VA so have a change of scenery. looking at a kit that a buddy bought, and decided to go a different route. its an eagle cast crank, i beam eagle rods that are plane jane, no bushings and 6.123 long, and some kb 356 pistons .030. with the j heads you think i could deck the block and will i have to mill the pistons for the quench deck? think i can get about 500 hp out of this? thanks in advance. trying to decide if i should pick it up tomorrow

 

i picked up the kit. its the eagle cast steel crank, eagle SIR ibeam rods 6123 and kb 356 hyperteuts pistons that are 30 over. they are a dished piston so with these rods and the 72 cc j heads i have how much can i mill the head, or how can i take measurements to see? trying to learn

 

I think you want a cam with more lift if you want 500-550 hp.

Are you using 1.5 or 1.6 ratio rockers

I built a 360/410 with 10.5:1 comp. 2.02/1.625 valves, Stage 1 ported iron heads, 232/238 dur..572/.584 lift, rhoads lifters, beehive springs, dual plane(runners ported) intake, 750 demon, and a lot of go fast goodies, and am probably not even at 500hp(close if not).

Not sure if you can build a 500-550 hp 360 on a budget either. I spent $8000 on mine.

I will tell you that it is stupid fast. When you can hammer it doing 40mph and the car goes sideways