Chevy Stroker Kits Insight - Long-Armed Bandits

780
Although we doubt we'll ever see one of these in anything that remotely resembles a street car, we sure hope someone proves us wrong. By spreading out the center mains in its 5000-series aluminum block, Brodix has increased the Rat motor's 4.840-inch bore spacing to 5.000 inches. In conjunction with a 11.600-inch deck and cam bores that have been raised a full inch, this behemoth can ingest a 5.500-inch crank. Matched with a 4.750-inch bore, that's good for 780 ci. The truly wacky part about it is that Callies stocks the cranks needed for this combo in its warehouse, although custom pistons are a must. Brodix has a set of heads that flow 557 cfm and will bolt right up, and Brodix is currently working on an intake manifold as well. At a hair under $7,000 just for a block, a combo like this is cost-prohibitive, to say the least.

Pricing It Out
To get a better idea of what it costs to assemble a stroker short-block, we've priced out a couple of theoretical buildups. Although it sometimes gives you less flexibility in spec'ing out your combo exactly how you'd like, purchasing bundled rotating assemblies is a great way to save cash. The Powerhouse 434 rotating assembly used in our small-block build includes a 4.000-inch forged 5140 crank, 6.000-inch I-beam rods, forged pistons, rings, bearings, a flexplate, and an SFI balancer. For our big-block build, we opted for a Scat 540 rotating assembly featuring a 4.250-inch forged 4340 crank, 6.385-inch H-beam rods, forged pistons, rings, bearings, a flexplate, and a balancer. Furthermore, since it makes little sense these days to monkey around with machining a production block, we've based these builds on aftermarket units instead.

Much to our surprise, our final tally was less than expected. The 434 rang up a total of $3,353, while the 540 set us back $4,475. Out of curiosity, we compared our figures to comparable turnkey short-blocks on the market. Again, the difference was less than expected. Coast High Performance sells a Dart-block-based 427 with forged 4340 internals for $4,620. Factor in the cost of professional assembly and its higher-grade internals when compared to our 434, and the $1,267 price difference is almost a wash. Likewise, Coast's Dart-block-based 540 with forged 4340 internals lists for $5,000, just $380 more than our theoretical buildup. The bottom line: If a reputable shop offers a turnkey short-block with similar specs to what you're thinking about building, it may not cost that much more than building it yourself.

Strokers cost big bucks, but...        read full caption Strokers cost big bucks, but that needn't always be the case. If you're looking to build a simple 400-450hp 383, Northern Auto Parts can set you up with a complete rotating assembly for just $600. The kit includes a Scat cast crank, 5.700-inch rods, hypereutectic pistons, rings, bearings, an oil pump, lifters, a mild flat-tappet cam, freeze plugs, and a timing set.

There was a time when building...        read full caption There was a time when building a 632 big-block required a high-dollar custom billet crank, but not anymore. Eagle recently introduced its 4340 forged 4.750-inch big-block crank, available through Jegs for $800.

If you have an extra $6,800...        read full caption If you have an extra $6,800 to spare, Brodix has a Series 5000 block with your name on it. Match its 11.600-inch deck height and 5.000-inch bore spacing with Callies' 5.500-inch off-the-shelf H5 crank, and you'll have the ultimate stroker. It's expensive, no doubt, but can you really put a price on 780 ci?