help me build my 408 stroker

[SixGun]

RV cams are generally 0-5000 rpms.

[Dracen]

Well... This project might end up on hold as I just located a full 99 ram with a newly rebuilt 360 under the hood, Baja mtz tires and 3" body lift, after market grill and front bumper for 1200 the trans is out in it... Motor only has 8900 miles on it so might be worth the hour drive. And there's another one with a new motor and 6" fabtech lift and new 35" tires for $3500 trans is out on this one as well. So looks like I have options that I hadn't thought about really because ideally I didn't want a used motor but both claim to have new motors with paperwork... And I get other spare parts... Or I could buy another local truck I know of for 500 that was wrecked and has a good motor and trans and put them in the truck I get the motor out of and sell the left overs and make a little extra... Lol dang the options now.

[ProjectPW]

A 408 build needs to be meticulously designed and built... there is no such thing as a budget stroker motor... You will be better served with a nice healthy stock 360 magnum... cheap and readily available

[Dracen]

Well honestly the price of parts was not so much of the issue and labor was cheap it's figuring out the parts that suck. I will more than likely still build it but it will not be in near the rush that I feel I'm in now. Might take a few months total rather then a few weeks. Lol

[ProjectPW]

Well honestly the price of parts was not so much of the issue and labor was cheap it's figuring out the parts that suck. I will more than likely still build it but it will not be in near the rush that I feel I'm in now. Might take a few months total rather then a few weeks. Lol

That is the best way to go about it 

[Dracen]

I just hate wasting money so I wanted to do the striker rather than a factory rebuild or going with a used motor but both the trucks I found say they both have new motors and bad trans so figure if I get one of them I get a few other parts as well and I can get the third truck I know of and take the parts from 3 and fix the second one up nice and sell it for as much r more than I have into the other two I didn't need so it would be pretty much a free temp motor while I have time to build up the strocker... Plus I can add things like the programmer and headers along the way before dropping in the stroker making it at least feel more of a budget build... So either way let's keep this thread moving with the build...

[Dracen]

Well plans have changed... I ended up getting a full truck for 1200 so the 408 does not have to be done in a rush.... and I can do the build the way I feel it really should be.

https://wichitafalls.craigslist.org/cto/5297549158.html

the truck I got is a 99 dodge ram 2wd... 3" body lift and 3" suspension lift with a full set of 315 x 70 x 17 Mickey Thompson mtz tires (I would say about 75% tread left on all 4), seats look good (cloth). body is about 80% perfect only damage I can find is the passenger side  door has a whiskey style dent as does the extended cab door. Now the motor starts and runs great... aftermarket grill.. that has really grown on me... has a spectra dual cold air intake.

so here's the bad... Transmission is toast... dash is pretty much shot.... Looks like some wiring was  chewed up and electrical taped but works fine. passenger side front blinker is broke custom built front tube bumper is welded to the core support and then a piece of diamond plate connects it to the front cross member. and the guy who did the work must have been in a hurry because the top tube is sloped instead of flat. door panels are held on by screws. driver seat power does not work (I'm thinking fuses)

Hope to have the motors swapped in the next two weeks or so. then I'll move on to tearing the 99 down to parts and selling off or trading off things I don't want or need.... Going to start with a minor overhaul of the new motor.. IE plugs wires cap rotor... normal tune up stuff and might change out the sensors and all to stuff off my block... but going to do a compression check first. also going to order headers for it... Might as well start off with the first parts for the new build as well...LOL

[rjtx667]

good luck with it all.

I agree with Noah. a stroker is not cheap and not to be done on a budget. it takes time and money, and has to be done right!!!

There is a book on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Modify-Mopar-Magnum-V-8HP1473-Step--ebook/dp/B002SV3768/

it has a lot of good info in it.

When you do go to get some tuning work done... DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and just in case you did not understand I will say it again

DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT USE HEMIFEAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I used him first and it was a total waste of money. my 408 ran like a stock 360.

Flying Ryan (Ryan Hogan) really made the engine come alive. Its amazing the difference. I have charts where I tracked the improvements and changes. Its night and day.

Let us know how it all goes.

[Dracen]

do you have a link to  flying ryan?

hughes also offers the custom tunes and all just not sure how custom they will do.

I honestly thing stokers can be done on a budget...  so long as the research is done... for example to me I dont see a need to buy a $4000 stroker kit thats ment for racing when I dont plan on racing  there is a scat stroker kit that $1500 that will work just fine for me. I want to keep stoke compression no need to run anything higher than 91 fuel for me. as is I normally can't get above 91 locally anyway. I don't see a need to use $3000 worth of heads when a ported and polished stock set should be just fine. My goals not 500 HP I honestly dont care that much about the numbers at all I want a strong reliable motor, sure a stock 360 would work but if I'm going to rebuild it anyway why not put in an extra little bit and stroke it? honestly I wouldn't mind not doing the 30 over if 10 over will do but at the same time having a full 408 stroker would be nice.  I guess thats what I mean by a budget stroker.  sure it's going to cost but  no need to over do the budget...

I guess this thread will become more of a documentation thread as I go along as well. hopefully I can start ordering more parts here in the next few weeks.... I'm not sure what order I'll get them in but I'm going to start with more this week.  So far I have a set of shorty headers (more than likely by long tube later) but found a deal on this set of stainless for $120 shipped. then add in the factory service manual at $30 (digital as I have a laser printer so I can print only the pages as I need them)... Then I'm more than likely going to get the book was just linked. 


So on another note... once I get the block out I will more than likely send it off to get all the machine work done pretty quickly... whats the best way to make sure that it stays in good shape until I get the parts in and installed? or would it be better to simply wait until everything is here and machine it and put it together all at once? I know guys that have done true rolller 10K rpm motors and it toke many many years with the machined block sitting there, but I'm looking to have it done no later than new years time frame. built and in the truck.

[bullboy0852]

That is a good question about the machine work, I want to get mine done as funds become available but how to keep the block fresh while awaiting parts is a mystery to me as well.

Sent from my XT1526 using Tapatalk

[Dracen]

book ordered and working on downloading to read and print.

[rjtx667]

you can get the block dip'd and mag'd but really no point in doing any of it until your ready to build.

You want the clean up and hone to be fresh for the install. Blocks are a dime a dozen, so if the block is bad its easy and cheap to replace. Most of the time its the crank and heads. those you can see most of the time before you get machine work.

As far as heads go... consider the EQ heads. they are not too bad price wise, and they have better castings and are stronger/ don't crack like factory heads.

worth the little extra in the long run. Doing a 408, you will need the 1.92/2.02 valves as the heads are the major bottle neck of the magnums. its hard to get them to flow enough air to power the 408 to full potential.

Ryan does tunings through Air Ram performance

http://www.airram.com

[Dracen]

Not much done on this stuff the last few days but I did get the headers in...

So what parts (links or at least specs) would you guys buy with a parts budge of ...

3k
4k
5k
$$$ (ideal parts as if you where spending someone else's money on your own motor...)

Keep in mind this is a daily driver... Going to be lifted and tire of around 35-37" ...must run on pump gas... Will be fuel injected... So custom tune... Automatic (going to build this as well But that will be another deal)...

[SixGun]

The guys are out at Hidden Falls for the weekend. 

[Dracen]

Would be nice to be able to get back to wheelin been several years sense I went to ram jam or a big get together...  Only been wheel in about 5 or 6 times in the last year.