[Bobs_cat]

I am looking to find a cheap stroker crank for my 351. 383, 393, doesn't matter, I would like a steel one if I could get it, but cast is all I can really afford right now. Thing is, I read around on various forums on the interwebs and there seems to be a lot of mixed reviews about the eagle cast stroker cranks. This thing is probably going to be 450hp max with the heads/cam I have, and will not see anything over 6k RPM (not often anyways). I'm just not sure what to get, the eagles are ~275 on summit, plus shipping to Canada (not free), where as there are similar cranks on fleabay for ~180, made by "SGI" cast strokers, made in china. But the eagle cranks are made in china too, so I am somewhat tempted to go for the SGI, especially if it is $100 cheaper and likely comes out of the same factory. Like, are there any brands that make a cast stroker that is any better then the other? Or am I just putting too much thought in to this?

 

[woodsnake]

I'm glad you asked this question, because I am pricing alternative stroker kits as well.
I was looking at this one, sounds like the same one you were looking at:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-103514000/

 

[Cougrrcj]

Back when I was building my 393W (that uses cheap stock Windsor rods and cheap stock 302 pistons), I was able to get a brand new 'second' cast crank that had been turned .010 on the rods (std mains) for only $150 from cnc-motorsports.com. Heck, I couldn't barely get my 351W crank turned for that! Yet another reason why I went stroker!

I don't know if they still offer those kind of deals, but it'd be worth a phone call!

 

[woodsnake]

cougarrcj, was it an eagle brand crank shaft? I think I'm reading that those are made in China.

 

[Cougrrcj]

I believe it is an Eagle crank... but I bought this over five years ago, so who knows... Since the crank was a 'second' meaning it was ground .010 under on the rod journals, it was selling for a deep discount over a standard crank. I couldn't beat the price - especially for a 'budget' rebuild. Now that I'm throwing some serious power at it, I kinda wish I had gone forged... and 408... and bigger cam... and better heads...

 

[woodsnake]

I really don't want to build "monster motor"...THe budget stroker looks like less money, due to less machine work. If I start looking at "better" parts, then the standard rebuild starts looking better...Once the car is rust free and has a good color coat, I want to be able to really enjoy it, rather than look at it, and say,
"sure is pretty, wish it ran"....

 

[letsroll]

When selecting the crank go ahead and get a kit that has rods too so that mismatch is not a problem. I bought a complete balanced assembly with 5140 forged rods, forged pistons and the balancer and flywheel. The added up front money saves a lot of matching up headache and and potential catastrophe later on.

Another thing is the block you start with. I was fortunate enough to land a 74 block which had the taller deck height and did not need clearanced for the 408 stroker crank that I used. It still had the thick main webs too. The 71 up blocks have the taller deck height (9.503)and using a 69 70 (9.480)could result in piston tops out the top a bit. Might not hurt anything if the head gasket is thick enough but why risk it. Got to figure that in when calculating your CR though. I do not remember from my prior search what year of blocks where the added pain of clearancing for the stoker kit started but I had bought the tool/gauge for it only to find the 74 block didn't need it for the 408. I remember reading something about some stroker kit rod combinations added to the clearancing needing to the bottom of the cylinders to clear the rod bolts but the small block chevy type rods in my kit did not need that.