Performance difference between 351W & SA 354 stkr?

[Unique 289_FIA]

I've wondered this for awhile. How would a 351W's performance compare to a 302W stroked to 354 (Southern Automotive's kit), assuming similar heads, intake, carb, etc? Would there be a significant difference? Would the stroker make more torque? Which has more potential? Why would one choose one versus the other?

Robert

Unique Motorcars 289 F.I.A. # 9142
Southern Automotive 354 stroker

[clinck]

Robert, I think the stroker motor will make initially more torque[read lower end of rpm range] Though nothin makes up for cubic inches in displacement in the long run. Why not stroke the 351 withan eagle kit out to 406....then we're havin fun[:P]

[Tony Radford]

351 stroked to 427. That's the ticket.

427SC, Torch Red / white stripes
427 Windsor Stroker from Southern Automotive
Delicious example of Beauty + Power.

[weaver]

We had Bill at Southern Automotive build us a 347 stroker for our 289 demo and we were amazed at the power and torque, it is almost as fast as our 427 demo with the Ernie Elliott Nascar motor. I would love to run it at TGP and compare numbers with the Nascar cobra.

Alan

[Unique 289_FIA]

Stroking the 351 seems to be the popular answer I've been getting. Of course a 4xx c.i. motor has more potential. But what I'm asking is given a stroked 302W and a non-stroked 351W, is there any performance benefit of one over the other? In other words, will the 351 inherently make more torque or will the stroker? Are the power bands going to be different (given same setup)?

I already have the 354 stroker from S.A. and am quite pleased with it, but I'm new to Ford small blocks and this was a question I've been pondering.

Unique Motorcars 289 F.I.A. # 9142
Southern Automotive 354 stroker

[Copper01]

I always hate questions that are answered with more questions, but I think you may have asked one here.

The simple fact is that an engine that has a larger bore to stroke ratio should make rpm faster and should have a higher overall rpm rating, assuming the same quality components are used thoughout. An engine with a larger stroke to bore ratio (a 'stroker') should make more torque at a lower rpm, but will most likely not have the capability to run at the same rpm as an unstroked version.

The 351 Windsor has a bore and stroke of 4.00 x 3.50. The 302 Windsor has a bore and stroke of 4.030 x 3.00. This means that the major difference between the 351W and the 302W is the stroke. If you stroke the 302W to 3.50, you will have an almost identical bore/stroke ratio to the 351W and, of course, an almost identical number of cubic inches. At this point, the major difference in performance will come down to what else you do to the engine. And, of course, this is where different heads, valves, cams, flywheels, carburators (dare I say Webers [:P]), fuel injection, ignition, timing, exhaust, etc, etc. all come into play. Sadly, it's just not as simple as saying this one is better than that one. There's just too many variables in the equation for a this/that answer.

One solution might be to ask Bill at S.A. if he has a dyno chart on his 354 stroker kit and compare that to a dyno chart on a 351W. Of course, the dyno chart on a 351W is going to depend on which version of the 351W they dyno. There were significant differences in performance between "W", "H" and "R" versions, although they were all referred to as Windors.

Too many variables...


Ben
Unique 427
SA 427SO w/ Toploader
Guardsman Blue w/ White Stripes

[clayfoushee]

Good answer Ben.

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler, top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD