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347 Stroker build advise

22K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Rugbydog 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

First time posting here. My father and I have a 1976 Mustang II Coupe and we want to give it a big boost in the power department. The 302 block that is in it now is solid, out of a mid 80's mustang, but the rest of the motor is junk. We're debating on either machining the block we have, or potentially buying a new setup/crate motor. Our goal is to put a 347 stroker in it and have this car be a daily driver in the summer time, using pump gas. We want to keep it carbeurated as well. We'll be attaching it to a C4 transmission that we will be beefing up a little bit with a rebuild and getting a stronger rear end.

We'd like to get around 450hp out of this guy with a butt load of torque to put us in the back of the seat on take off!

I'm asking for suggestions on either a good crate engine that we can purchase vs. recommendations for a kit/heads etc etc that we can attach to our block we have now. Trying to keep it under $5000 when it comes to the engine.

Any and all suggestions are welcome, thanks guys!
 
#2 ·
450 hp is a little high for a 347 daily driver on pump gas. 400 hp is more realistic.

I bought a short block from Coast High Performance for mine and added an Edelbrock Performer RPM top end kit. That put me right around $5000 but did not include rocker arms, oil pump and pan, carb, distributor and so on, which I already had.

I'm leery of local machine shops unless you know them very well and know them to do good work. I've heard too many stories about prices that escalate well beyond first estimates and flimsy excuses about why things didn't work right.

You can do better on price from Jegs and others that sell Blueprint or private brand engines and they usually include freight. They tend to use lesser grade parts but may be OK - I just don't have any experience with them.

Ford Racing also has some good crate engines but use heads that have relocated spark plug locations that can be hard to find headers for.
 
#3 ·
You could go to the junk yard and find a 1970 Ford truck with a 351 Windsor in it and already have more cubic inches before any machine work. I'm pretty sure it would fit in you Mustang II and the parts for upgrading are readily available. I built my stroker for just under $4500 and that includes crank, rods, machine work and a pair of Victor Jr. aluminum heads. Don't get me wrong, I love 5.0's, I just love 351W's a little better. With all the cheap parts from ProComp you can build quite an engine. I've had some bad luck with them, but they would be my choice if I was on a budget.
Dave
 
#4 ·
450HP is easy to achieve from a mild 347. AFR 185 heads, Airgap intake, Anderson B-41 cam with a Holley 750 carb will get you there. I know as mine dynoed 460Hp and 440TQ with that combo with the older Outlaw heads. Adperformance has a great reputation and would be a good choice for a shortblock or stroker kit. Stay with a Scat cast crank and Scat or Eagle I beam rods and a forged piston. Probe makes a good piston for the money. ADP Comp Street 347 - 10.5:1 [adp_street_347_na] - $1,999.00 : AD Performance, Your Source for Longblock Performance Parts
 
#5 ·
450HP is easy to achieve from a mild 347. AFR 185 heads, Airgap intake, Anderson B-41 cam with a Holley 750 carb will get you there. I know as mine dynoed 460Hp and 440TQ with that combo with the older Outlaw heads. Adperformance has a great reputation and would be a good choice for a shortblock or stroker kit. Stay with a Scat cast crank and Scat or Eagle I beam rods and a forged piston. Probe makes a good piston for the money. ADP Comp Street 347 - 10.5:1 [adp_street_347_na] - $1,999.00 : AD Performance, Your Source for Longblock Performance Parts
The 450 hp is a reality for a mild 347 but to do it for under $5000
is a tough one unless you already have some of the parts! the heads alone are over $2000! and labour is outrageous!
 
#6 · (Edited)
.
there is no such thing as a 347 with a "true" 450 hp that will give you a but load of torque unless it has a supercharger/

a 347 with a true 450 crank hp will need at least 3.73 gears to make it accelerate hard and 3.91 would be better.

dyno ratings vary from dyno to dyno.

if you want 450 hp and decent torque, you must build a 351 windsor into a 410.

in either case, the formulae is pretty much the same . . 185 or 195 afr heads on a 347 or afr 195 heads on a 410 . . if you use trick flow i would use the 11r model heads.

lots of cams will get you there including the one cmefly posted.


i use mahle or je srp 4032 material pistons . . they can be bored to a tighter tolerance so your engine will last longer.

have your block decked so the pistons are .002 - .005 below the deck.

run internal balance if you have the money.

i use ati dampers . . they dampen better on street cars.

for max power use a vic jr intake but thats a bit much if you want for gobs of torque.

balance the engine.

quick fuel ss style vacuum secondary carbs are a good deal.
.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Unless your needing tractor puller like torque the 347 will do just fine. Especially in a fairly light car like a mustang II. Cmeflys engine with 440 ft/lbs would definitely put you back in the seat! A 351 windsor based stroker can make insane big block like torque but it is difficult to get it to hook up on the street. Most guys will run the vic jr intake to take away some torque down low and have more power up high to give the street radials a chance. Also the 351 based engine will be a tight fit between the frame rails of the mustang II and header availability isn't the greatest for that combo.
 
#8 ·
I built my 347 for $6000. I did however do all the machine work myself at school. Eagle rotating assembly, AFR 185 1388 heads, comp hydraulic roller 282 retrofit cam, should have gone solid roller as it is now more of a drag car than a weekend car :)

Save money on parts that do not move: I did not, could have saved a ton!
oil pan
valve covers
intake manifold
timing cover....
Go house brand on these parts, spend on rotating assembly, cam, and heads.

My 347 is in the 450 hp range, but i have no dyno numbers to prove anything. the racing calculators estimate 330-340 rwhp for my car.
 
#9 ·
I built my 347 for $6000. I did however do all the machine work myself at school. Eagle rotating assembly, AFR 185 1388 heads, comp hydraulic roller 282 retrofit cam, should have gone solid roller as it is now more of a drag car than a weekend car :)

Save money on parts that do not move: I did not, could have saved a ton!
oil pan
valve covers
intake manifold
timing cover....
Go house brand on these parts, spend on rotating assembly, cam, and heads.

My 347 is in the 450 hp range, but i have no dyno numbers to prove anything. the racing calculators estimate 330-340 rwhp for my car.
one thing about balancing I would like to mention is, I bought a 347 stroker from a local speed shop! The kit was supposed to be balanced
to 28 oz ! when the engine was balanced the flywheel was balanced instead of the rotating assembly. When I sent my Flywheel back for recertification It was refused because the flywheel was drilled! I had to get my Engine re balanced to take a stock 28 oz fly wheel! then I had to buy a new 28 oz fly wheel or my Car couldn't run at the local track!
just saying make sure when they balance the engine they do the drilling on the crank not the Fly wheel!
 
#12 ·
Brian built a stroker motor for me and installed flat top pistons . The motor was suppose to be 10:1 compression. His proposal reflected the correct -24cc but that's not what he installed. I installed the motor in my vehicle and tried to run it on pump gas. It ping'd like crazy. I popped the head to find the incorrect pistons. I tried to get a hold of him for 2 months, no answer. Any engine builder to make this huge of a mistake is not a reliable. Then to not stand by his work is not acceptable.
 
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