OK, I have a brand new, hydralic roller style, 1 piece rear main seal, (post 86' year engine, duh) bare block. I have a 3.75" stroker crank. Together this will make a 377 inch engine. The block is the heavy duty block used in 1986-1989, 4 bolt main.
Here's the questions now:

1. With this block, will I still have to have the bores honed? They look done to me, but I figure I'd better ask before I ruin a $5000 project.

2. Does this block need to be clearanced to fit this crank? For refrenece, it's a Eagle 4340 Forged Steel 3.75" crank (that what everyone refers to as a 400 crank or a 383 stroker crank). I heard that these blocks will clear these cranks, is that true and are you sure?

3. Any one else here ever do this project before?


Sorry for making it so long, I wanted to make sure it was very clear and detailed, I think I did the job.

Thanks!

Joe

 

Cylinder sizes should be checked for the pistons you intend to use. Different pistons require different clearances and a new block won't know the final size of the piston you chose so some finishing is required. The cylinder walls are honed with different grit sizes depending on what rings you intent to use. If the honing doesn't match the ring material they may never seat properly.

Crank clearance? Ask Eagle. They made the crank. They should know. Don't assume anything.

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87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley

 

Clearance will depend more on the rods. Odds are though, since the block wasn't made with that stroke in mind, you'll be doing some grinding. You left out the principal (well, actually the only) detail that might tell us how much grinding, which would be what kind of rods you're going to use. No crank hits the block, it therefore doesn't matter what crank you are using. A stock cast 400 crank has or doesn't have the same clearance issues as that one.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

LOL, I can't believe I forgot about the rods! They're Eagle H-beam 5.7" rods. The pistons are Speed Pro forged ones, made for a standard bore and a 3.75" crank. The rings are plasma moly, the still need to be cut.

 

Also, to save you some time, take your #2 and #6 rods and hit the top edge of the rod bolt on a grinder at such an angle as to remove material from both the rod and edge of the bolt on the side closest to the cam. I used the eagle kit and #2 definatly hit the cam and #6 was too close for comfort. I also had to remove a minor amount from the bore bottoms... Test fit them with no rings.

As for the final piston to wall clearance, you need to mic a piston and set it. Usually .002" for cast/hyper and .006" for forged, but you need to measure the pistons, preferably all of them and match them to the bores.