RE: 440 Source Stroker Kits/was Heads

[Earl Helm <ehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave,

You are so right. Nothing should be used out of the 
box without being checked. Just got a new Callies crank 
for the race car. First thing I did was to check everything. 

You will find that almost every complete head you buy you 
will wind up replacing the valve springs based on your cam 
usage. Especially if you're trying to make HP, and or using 
a high lift cam. Also, I have never been happy with the valve 
jobs on replacement aluminum heads. Valve heights are off, 
valve lengths are off, and the seat cuts are never the best. 
Can you run them, yes, are they correct, almost never.

FYI - Almost every crank - rods - are imported blanks no 
matter who the manufacture is. About the only difference is 
the finish machine work. The better suppliers do their machine 
work state side. I would assume that 440 is having 
the machine work overseas, if they are that inconsistent. Almost 
every valve is made in Brazil. Guys that purchase a name brand 
crank, and think it is US made, are mistaken. The design work is 
done in the US. The blanks are made in China. The reason I 
know is I work with most the engineers that do the design work. 
They almost all use our software.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF A ROTATING ASSYMBLY is the 
rod bolts. Never skimp on rod bolts. Most H beam rods, even cheap 
ones will hold up for a street, heavy bracket use car with good 
rod bolts, if everything is machined and assembled correctly. I saw 
4 engine explosions at the end of the year at the track. Everyone 
boiled down to running the rod bolts too long. All four guys to the T 
make the same statement, "I just wanted to get thru this year, I was 
going to rebuild it this winter, this is the second year on these
parts".
For a street car, a good set of rod bolts will last you the life of the 
motor, and let you run it hard. I replace mine every year. 
Never had a rod failure. Think ARP

Earl 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Walters [mailto:dbustersdad@xxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 7:18 PM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: 440 Source Stroker Kits/was Heads



plypkup41@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> Thanks Dave,that seems to be the general consensus,heads are good 
> springs and valves not so much.What about their stroker kits?Anyone
have 
> opinions on the parts they use in there kits?
> 
> Dean Miller

Their kits are good for the budget minded build, but you should always 
spend a few more bucks having the parts checked/corrected by a machine 
shop before using. I wouldn't consider any of it suitable to use 
out-of-the-box without being checked out. A nice step up would be the K1

cranks and K1 or CompStar rods, especially if you consider the 
possibility of additional crank work that might be needed. I'd also get 
the balancing done locally.

I have one of Brandon's first run of 4.25 RB stroker cranks still 
sitting in my garage. It has .001" of taper across one main and .0005" 
across two others. A couple of the rod journals were .0004"-.0005" out 
of  round. This crank would have to be turned .010" in order for me to 
be comfortable using it in a 700+HP combo. 

P.S. The usual suspect will likely chime in to say that there is nothing

wrong with those taper and roundness numbers. Each person has their own 
tolerances for acceptability in a given application. 




Dave Walters
Denver,CO.


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Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!

'62 to '65 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
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