Rotating Assembly

When I started my build, I learned the crank I had would require a .010 regrind. I needed to buy a new set of rods and more than likely, those rods would require rework, with an over-bore, I’d need new pistons. When I added all the numbers together, I was within about $300 of the cost of a stroker kit. I did some research and found an excellent resource, right in my backyard.

Searching the internet, I saw a reference to a site, www.StrokerKits.com. I visited the site and something caught my eye. Their phone number is in the same area code that I live. A quick Google search gave me the info they were about 20 miles from my home, in a neighboring town. Quess what was on the agenda for the next day at lunch?

I spent a couple visits to the shop run by Ronnie Besselman. In Saint Charles, MO, they are known as Allied Automotive. I learned they are one of the few remaining machine shops in the area. Things were beginning to fall into place when I also learned that Ronnie is not only a Ford guy, he also speaks “FE”. By the time it was all done, I was dropping my block off to him for machining and had a stroker kit on order.

UPDATE: Well, it’s unfortunate but time marches on. Ron and Allied Automotive are no longer. My 2nd FE build was done with Lumpy at Performance Motorsports in Greenville, IL. But he is no longer also. I am currently building a 3rd motor for a GT40 project, that work is being farmed to Creason Motorsports in Troy, MO.

Crank & Rods
Ronnie’s recommendation was the Scat FE Stroker kit. My block showed I could maybe go .050 over but decided to stop at .030. I could get more cubes with the 4.250 stroke but I chose to go with the 4.125  This combination would give me 431 inches. Close enough that I could display the 427 badge without pangs of guilt.

My motor is a hybrid. I chose to go with the internal balance, similar to the 390 and 427 blocks. Motors just last longer with this approach. Yea, it costs a few more bucks, but when done, you don’t need to worry about the correct damper, spacer or flywheel.

That little slug on the second picture is one very expensive piece of metal – and I needed one in another counterweight, also.

Rods are a Chevy style journal, 6.700 inches long. A nice heavy duty forged rod with a 7/16″ ARP bolt set. The kit also included a set of Clevite main and rod bearings.

I spent a little time measuring and mike’ing pieces to make sure all the clearances were correct. Then as a belt and suspender approach, I used some plasti-gauge to check the clearances.

Pistons

At Ronnie’s suggestion, I went with Diamond pistons – and was very pleasantly pleased with the quality of the set.