Looking to build a 348 4” stroker........
- Thread starter taws697
- Start date
alexm900
Well Known Member
I would be wary of the Eagle crank as it needs a lot of machine work out of the box to make it right. Like many here, I have used that exact same one about 5 years ago, hopefully quality may have changed since. In retrospect, and at the time, a Scat or an oem 454 crank would have come better and cheaper (including machine work).
Turned my '61 348 into a 434 stroker motor. Bored .030 over. Bought a 454 crank and 396 BB rods that the machine shop already had. Pistons were expensive. $100.00 each. Edelbrock heads, intake and carb. Isky hydraulic cam. Better then stock but nothing too radical. CR is about 9:1. Gobs of power and torque. I'm thinking about $6000.00 total investment. Runs well, Carmine.
There was an issue,especially with Eagle cranks a few years back that I think has been fixed since then.Moral:Always check,,,,,,,,,,,,EVERYTHING!!!! I know that it's a pain to spend all that money on a new part then have to spend even more just to get things right but it's still cheaper than engine failure because you didn't.
So when these guys use a 454 crank, are they using the forged piece or cast?
Don’t know why you’d use a cast...... I’ve seen a few of them at the swap meet’s for 100-150 for the forged.......Needing to be turned of course
But I’ve also seen where they say a cast crank shaft for a 454 is good for between 500 to 700 hp.......
Afterthought ........I don’t know if that still holds true after turning the mains down to 409 size......With most likely a heavier piston
Afterthought ........I don’t know if that still holds true after turning the mains down to 409 size......With most likely a heavier piston
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I wouldn't mind a cast crank at 500 hp,6,000 rpm,but over that it'd be steel only.The only caviot is that the 454 crank is externally balanced and the cost of having Mallory metal added to bring it back to neutral balance usually makes it cheaper to just use an aftermarket crank made for the W engine in the first place.
Cast cranks just fatigue much quicker then a forged unit. The little extra up front is cheap insurance down the road. Same for forged vs cast pistons.
Cast cranks are good due to lighter weight, they're strong until many heavy cycles and then they will fatigue break
Cast cranks are good due to lighter weight, they're strong until many heavy cycles and then they will fatigue break
Don, I've asked questions about this in the past and the answers I was getting was that you would still have to mallory the aftermarket cranks to balance them.
Much easier to balance the forged crank
Just made the point before that 500hp 6000rpm is cast cranks all day. Forged should be used on race cars 600hp and 6500rpm plus. Anyone who builds a motor knows whether it will be going in auto or stick car so balancing externally is always handled accordingly. For the person looking to save money on a build, cast is the only way to go. ICON pistols and big block rods . Good times.
SuperStocker I take it you used a cast crank in your build,thats what I'm using in the stroker for my truck.It will have the unported 333's and a hydraulic cam so no high rpms for this one.The stroker that I'll build to use the ported big valve heads will use a forged crank.
Cast crank vs. steel crank. When I was putting together a 406 sbc engine with a 671 BDS blower for my '57 Belair, I did much reading on a blower motor. Additionally, I spoke with several people who already had a blown engine. I was self taught with much of this, but I did learn that a cast crank, double keyed, would be fine if turning 6000 rpm's or less. I planned on this rpm or less and did use a cast crank. The machine shop took care of the balancing issues. Never had any problems with it. Ran the engine to 5200 rpm's several times. Just passing this along, Carmine.
Nope, I didn't know enough when I put it together so I went with a forged crank thinking I needed it. My engine builder told me afterwards that its built proof but wasn't necessary for my 500hp goals. For my application I should have used a cast crank but when I bought the 1970 454 crank it was $70 so after having it machined it was way cheaper than buying one done.
Personally I like the idea of reworking a GM piece as opposed to going with some offshore piece.