“No replacement for displacement”, that’s the battle cry, right? The more cubic inches you pack around, the better off you’ll be? Depends on the argument you’re wanting to get into. Sometimes a lighter car with a small, capable engine is the way to go to maximize the benefits of weight savings. Sometimes the smaller-displacement engine can be just as potent as the bigger displacement engine if they are from the same family…a 305 Chevy can be made to howl just as hard as a 350 if you know what to use in the build. But in certain circles, the stroker motor is held in especially hallowed ground. The 347 Ford, the 383 Chevrolet, and the 408ci Mopar LA are the giant-killers, the legendary small-block demon formulas that turn the millions of pedestrian, yawn-worthy engines into screamers, stump pullers and stoplight shockers. It might cost a pretty penny compared to freshening up a small-block, but it’s worth it. Right?
The Engine Masters team decided to give this a shot since they had two small-block Mopars in the bay, ready to fight. On one side is a stock-stroke 360 cubic inch LA with a slight bore, putting it at 367 cubic inches…nothing out of the ordinary. On the other side of the table is a 410ci stroker. The Mopar 408 is made when a 360 is given a four-inch stroke, compared to the stock 3.58 stroke. The extra couple of inches come from a .040″ overbore. The stroker will make more power, but the question is will it be enough to justify the cost of that new crankshaft, the rods, and everything else spent to build it?
I like the concept of this test. There’s little substitute for ‘ground truth’. The one thing I’d like to see, is one (or either.. probably the 410 CI) tested with the commercially available as cast or even better CNC ported heads that are available on this combination, E.G. Indy heads and/or Mopar Performance. It’s not that I think that the Edelbrock heads are bad, rather they’re just too small. Edelbrock make serious power. The Super Victor with 225 cc intake ports would also be a good example. Since you have essentially identical engines, you could explore the concept further. Other engine brands would also benefit from similar exercises. Regardless, I’m glad you guys expended the effort (I know it’s time consuming, but worth it IMHO).
Bob J
well, you can put these two motors in the street category since they have a hydraulic flat tappet cam. we saw both motors run out of r.p.m. with the 367 catching up. you can put these motors in the street-strip category with solid lifter camshaft, strip motors have a power band at a higher r.p.m. not at low r.p.m. where the test showed the widest difference. run both motors with same lift-duration cam and all the r.p.m. the valve springs can give. the big motor will run out of air-fuel mixture first in the higher r.p.m. if the smaller motor out r.pm.’s the big, put a gear-tire combo to keep it at that high r.p.m.
David….you’ll never be as pretty as Stacy David!!!
but then again guys won’t whistle at you ……..
Silly question. With the availability of parts today a stroker doesn’t really cost any more than a standard size. So just match it to your application and bite the bullet.