427 SO, Stroke or not to stroke

[cobracobra]

Well Bill is on his way on building my 427 SO. Im not to concerned with horsepower, happy with the 490hp he's advertising. But more after reliabilty. If I go with the 454 Am I benefitting off of more newer parts (crank,connecting rods,etc..) to make it over all more reliable not to mention more HP(again not to concerned with that)???Anybody that has gone that route please reply....much appreciated.....Mike in CT

[eliminator]

First of all a 454 is not a new crank, it's a used 428 crank. The 428 crank is made of a lesser material than the 427 $ steel crank. Now with that said the 428 crank is lighter than the steel crank which lets the engine rev up a little quicker. It's like a steel flywheeel vs an aluminum flywheel.
The only stroker that SA makes that has a new crank is the 484 cu inch out of the 427 block. It has H beam rods, probably a Scat Steel Crank and Forged Aluminum Pistons. Just rember HP is money, how much do you want to spend.
I would think about a stock stroked 427, with the correct steel crank, no steel truck crank. And spend the extra dollars on a McCleod Aluminum Flywheel with a good clutch, NO PIONEER Clutch. Get the forged pistons and a 10 to 1 compression engine. Bill tends to build the 427's with about 9.7, 9.8 to one compression ratio. I dont personally like that, the 10 to 1 will run fine on 93 octane fuel. Then don't let him talk you into that modified Ford distributor, your throwing your money away. Get a MSD Pro Billet or a Mallory, I like the MSD with the box better than the Mallory. He will give you a little fight but INSIST on the Distributor change. If not you will spend the money later on a new one, trust me. Hey, it's your engine and you will have to live with it. If you have some money left over go with the valve train upgrade, Billet rocker shaft upgrade, roller rockers, Billet stands, and Billet end stands.
My 2 cents worth.

Rick
#4279405

[excelguru]

Yep, the 454 is a stock (read: not new) 428 crank. The 462, which is what I have, is an offset-ground, nodular iron 427 crank. My option gave me the wider (read: Chevy) main bearings which can add some reliability if you're planning to push the car REAL hard (all-out racing). The Ford distributor sucks. Sorry, but it does. If I wind up keeping the car much longer, I'll buy an MSD. You should buy the MSD from the beginning. I'd spring for a RAM clutch, myself, but that's just my opinion. I eventually replaced my clutch with a RAM unit.

I'm not unhappy with the decision to stroke the motor. But I didn't do it for realiability. I did it for TORQUE! And torque I got... in spades.

I also got the aluminum heads and Dove roller rockers with which I have been happy.

Keith :)
My car is FOR SALE! (http://www.cobracountry.com/cobrasforsale-cobras.html)

[Naumoff]

Keith,

Why don't you just change the camshaft in the engine you have if it is to radical?

I don't think your going to like loosing all that torque once you have had it.

What is not reliable about the engine you have now?

[cobracobra]

I ended up w/ the 462 S/O & roller rockers. Engine will hopefully make it to Unique monday and turn around is roughly 2 or so weeks from then.....

Mike