355 stroker kit, where to start?

[Dsmitz]

I've just bought a 97 vs block for a stroker build in my vh, for a start he threw the heads in for free, what I'd like to know is are the vs heads exactly the same as vn?

Secondly where do I start with the build? I want to try do it myself because money doesn't grow on trees, but there will be no corners cut that's for sure. Any help would be awesome, cheers.


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[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

If you have a look on AV8, there is a lot of info there on the oiling mods you should do, flowing the oil pump etc. I just built a stroker in a VC, 308 block with VN heads and EFI. Not hard.

Make sure the block is no bigger than .040", ours was .060" and let go on Saturday at the end of a burnout. Cracked #2 pot.

.002" undersize cam bearings to keep the oil pressure up. Get a good quality kit, I used SCAT. Use a good machinist if getting the block bored.

The VN-VS heads are the same. You can get them ported if you want. Are you going carby or EFI?

 

[Dsmitz]

I've got some parts left from my 308 which went bang a month ago, still got ported heads, crane gold rockers, harrop single plane, holley 750 street hp, difilippo headers nd a couple of odds and ends

the block is standard bore apparently but I've got to measure it with a vernia. I've got a very good machinist I speak to often but he's pricey, so I want to assemble it myself, but not sure how to, I know the basics though.


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[Dsmitz]

If you have a look on AV8, there is a lot of info there on the oiling mods you should do, flowing the oil pump etc. I just built a stroker in a VC, 308 block with VN heads and EFI. Not hard.

Make sure the block is no bigger than .040", ours was .060" and let go on Saturday at the end of a burnout. Cracked #2 pot.

.002" undersize cam bearings to keep the oil pressure up. Get a good quality kit, I used SCAT. Use a good machinist if getting the block bored.

The VN-VS heads are the same. You can get them ported if you want. Are you going carby or EFI?

Which machinist do you use mate? Did you enter a car into gazzanats by any chance? What's the most youd pay for machine work on a vs 304?


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[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Didn't need a machinist on this particular block, when I stripped it, I could still see the cross hatches from the previous hone, measured the bores and they were all round.

Yes, it was at Gazzanats, Tiger Micre VC with a VK body kit, Andromeda. Made top 50, but let go right at the end of the burnout. Pulled it apart in the pits and discovered #2 with a hole in the block and piece missing out of the piston.

It would depend on how much machining is needed. To do it properly, line boring of the crank and cam journals is a good idea. I haven't paid for machine work in quite a while, so I really don't know.

Assembly is quite easy, just take your time and make sure the rods are around the right way. Biggest chamfer to the crank. A torque wrench is a must if you haven't already got one. The assembly plasti gauge for bearing clearances are a good idea too. (It's like plastacine that you fit between the bearing and the crank, when you torque the bolts up, the gauge squishes out, and you put the flattened out strip on a scale to tell you the clearance you have.)

Use assembly lube on all the bearings and running in lube on the cam if going a new cam (Flat tappet only, roller doesn't need it). I learnt the expensive way that turning an engine over too long will wipe the lube off and destroy lobes. Thanks to a stuffed Hall Effect Sensor on one cam and a lifter that didn't pump up on the second cam, I was on the third cam when it finally ran it properly. It needs to fire up straight away and hold revs at least to 2000rpm for about 20 minutes to get some heat into the cam.

You will need a ring compressor to fit the pistons into the bores. Check end gap clearances before you fit them.

It sounds complicated, but making sure everything is checked before final assembly will get you a good result. Took me 3 nights of about 3 hours a night to assemble my stroker. I also had to clearance the block as it was the original 308. Very easy to do though. I did it with a 5" angle grinder lol. There is a bit of a build on my Facebook page, the link is in my sig.

 

[Dsmitz]

Didn't need a machinist on this particular block, when I stripped it, I could still see the cross hatches from the previous hone, measured the bores and they were all round.

Yes, it was at Gazzanats, Tiger Micre VC with a VK body kit, Andromeda. Made top 50, but let go right at the end of the burnout. Pulled it apart in the pits and discovered #2 with a hole in the block and piece missing out of the piston.

It would depend on how much machining is needed. To do it properly, line boring of the crank and cam journals is a good idea. I haven't paid for machine work in quite a while, so I really don't know.

Assembly is quite easy, just take your time and make sure the rods are around the right way. Biggest chamfer to the crank. A torque wrench is a must if you haven't already got one. The assembly plasti gauge for bearing clearances are a good idea too. (It's like plastacine that you fit between the bearing and the crank, when you torque the bolts up, the gauge squishes out, and you put the flattened out strip on a scale to tell you the clearance you have.)

Use assembly lube on all the bearings and running in lube on the cam if going a new cam (Flat tappet only, roller doesn't need it). I learnt the expensive way that turning an engine over too long will wipe the lube off and destroy lobes. Thanks to a stuffed Hall Effect Sensor on one cam and a lifter that didn't pump up on the second cam, I was on the third cam when it finally ran it properly. It needs to fire up straight away and hold revs at least to 2000rpm for about 20 minutes to get some heat into the cam.

You will need a ring compressor to fit the pistons into the bores. Check end gap clearances before you fit them.

It sounds complicated, but making sure everything is checked before final assembly will get you a good result. Took me 3 nights of about 3 hours a night to assemble my stroker. I also had to clearance the block as it was the original 308. Very easy to do though. I did it with a 5" angle grinder lol. There is a bit of a build on my Facebook page, the link is in my sig.

Awesome, I saw your car there, very nice.. Well thanks for your help mate, no doubt I'll be in touch for more guidance haha


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[mr j-man]

Definitely go a scat crank and rods, make sure they are a holden journal as they balance up a lot better than a chev journal crank....but your rod selection is fairly limited with holden journals....just run Scat I beams. Look up "Precision International" for the stroker kit, im pretty sure you can score a complete 355 kit for approx $1599

Are you building a cruiser engine or a screamer??....that will determine your parts selection and any block modification ie clearances, oil mods, 4 bolt mains ect.
Crazy Oil mods and 4 bolt mains are only really for extreme usage ie circuit and burnout engines but are still beneficial for a tuff streeter don't get me wrong.

Firstly get all your rotating assembly components first, leave out your mains and cam bearings selection until you have all the rotating parts, then get the machining done and have the bearings sized up to suit....machinist will point you in the right direction for sizing....I learnt the hard way as I bought the wrong bearing sizes to start with, then the machinist suggested otherwise....lucky I got to exchange the bearings for the correct ones

What cam do you want? solid or hyd?....a killer street cam would be the crane 280 SFT (speaking from experience). Camtech have a good selection and great customer service and they also do package deals. Then comes your comp ratio which is dependent on your cam selection or vice versa and also deck height. Id shoot for about 11.0:1 CR which means 0 decked block and true flat top pistons.

Do you plan on running the old heads and manifold?? or run the VN heads with a new manifold?...vn heads are and instant HP gain over the 308 heads with no mods as youd probably know but none of your leftover parts will be compatible with the vn's.

Whats your budget? and how long do you plan on taking to build it?
I just finished building my 355 mid last year and im really happy with the outcome...mind you I had the bottom end machined and assembled by a pro for piece of mind as I didn't trust myself from missing something simple and having it go BOOM after outlaying 1000's of $$$$ and also had extensive head work done too.

HTH....

 

[Dsmitz]

I want it to scream lol high compression and massive torque, I'm not phased on hp figures. I don't really have a budget all I pretty much need is the short motor, I have ported vn heads and a complete top end bar a cam and lifters. I'm thinking of going a solid roller. The 304 block I've got has virgin bores and I can still see the machine marks inside the bores. I'm thinking of getting a shop to do the same, as in machining and assembly. My heads will need more porting also, they're set up for a 308 with a crane 288 solid, hence the fact my bottom end let go lol I want thing to pull like a freight train. My drivetrain is built to take a belting.


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[Cava454]

What ur building sounds like a big dollar engine. Something that needs to be precision built.

 

[mr j-man]

Well if thats the case, just hand the block and heads to a genuine builder and let him do it all....id expect no change from 18K to get something built to your screamer specs....

im a little confused...you initially state you wana build it yourself because money doesn't grow on trees....then secondly you say you dont have a budget????
a high comp, max torqued screamer cant be built in your garage with no rebuilding skills...if so the only screamer will be you when it lets go at 7000rpm