stroke or heads first

If it needs a crank and bearings, stroke it if you want. I think the heads are a better bet.

Whats vehicle is this engine gonna be in, primarily street or strip?

Since you asked which first.....i am assuming you can do both. In that case stroke it. Then sink your money in the heads.

Power is in the heads.

Its going to be in a 86 z28. Somewhat of a daily driver. Has true duel exhaust. I say somewhat because I took all the emissions off...so it doesnt exactly pass the test...but I still drive it a few times a week. Also one other question, I don't know much about compression, whats the pros and cons of having a high compression vs. a low compression?
Thanks ya'll.

stroke it and you'll get more power out of whatever parts you're using now. That way later on when you get some more money you can put heads on it. You can always swap heads down the line, its hard to stroke a motor lying on your garage floor.

K

Personally I would stroke it to be on the safe side. If you throw on a high flowing set of heads, and the berrings in the motor are worn out, or the crank or rods are fatigued, more hp will only make those problms worse. I am not necessecerily saying that that is the situation, but if you buy a good stroker kit now, you will know that your motor is strong, and you will gain some hp also. Once you get the money to do the heads, you will have a strong bottom end to put them on. As far as compression goes, high compression makes more hp but the gas you will have to run will cost $5.00 a gallon.

Good luck
Adam

Yeah, stroke it first, you can always swap the heads with the engine in the car.

But wait a second, true duel on a 3rd gen? I mean its possible, but rarely ever seen in 'true' duel. Have pics?

Ill post pictures of the exhaust setup as soon as I find the charger for my digital camera. Ive never seen it before on a 3rd gen either, but I wanted something different, so I had it fabricated at a local exhaust shop. Sounds really nice too. Only problem is near the driver/passenger seats, under the car, the pipes hang a bit low... I have to be careful around speed bumps and high inclines.
Thanks everyone for the responses, and take care.

If you stroke the engine with restrictive heads you will not see the complete power potential. Personally I would do the heads first and see where you are at. You don't have to rip the engine all the way down to do them, and you are going to need the heads either way.

I mean, I've seen a couple, and you're right, sounds/looks great, but is rare. BTW, summit sells a kit for a couple hundred. Emissions people arent to fond of it though. ain: Hope to see the pics

While i agree the power is in the heads, i would stroke it first if the engine is already out and ready for the work. It will be worth it in the end. And also if you do the heads first i bet stroking it won't be an option for awhile, as you would have to tear it all back down again.


Better to be safe than sorry. If you do the heads and then wish you stroked it.

On the other hand, if you just have one lump some to spend and don't know when or where the next lump sum is coming from.....do the heads.

gpeak said:

While i agree the power is in the heads, i would stroke it first if the engine is already out and ready for the work. It will be worth it in the end. And also if you do the heads first i bet stroking it won't be an option for awhile, as you would have to tear it all back down again.


Better to be safe than sorry. If you do the heads and then wish you stroked it.

On the other hand, if you just have one lump some to spend and don't know when or where the next lump sum is coming from.....do the heads.

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This is what is so nice about a site like this...so many different perspectives on one topic.

You already have the heads, just need to put them together. It only should take no more than a couple of hours to swap them, you don't have to remove the engine to do it, and you will definately see a big improvement in power. You will need the heads anyways and you will be able to drive your car while you obtain the correct parts and $$$ for machine work to stroke the engine properly. Your call but I would personally do the heads first.

we don't even know what heads he's talking about yet!

K

virrix said:

Hey all,
Question about engine I have.
Its a 350 from a 74 camaro, currently bored .40 over. CompCam 272 hydraulic cam, Edelbrock Airgap manifol, 650 carburetor. Now, not sure what I should do next. I have a set of bare cylinder heads, they are 2.02/1.6. I know they would beifit me greater than stock head, but then again so would stroking it. Should I build the heads and put them on, or should I stroke it first? Thanks.

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This is his first post. My assumption is that they are better than a '74 smog engine set of heads. If I guessed wrong...my apologies.

I'm not trying to jump your bones dude, just sayin, you can jam a set of 2.02's into about any head, sometimes it even hurts the flow if you don't shape the bowl to accomodate. With that cam I wouldn't bother putting anything but the best stock heads on it, preferrably an aftermarket set.

K

killerformula said:

I'm not trying to jump your bones dude, just sayin, you can jam a set of 2.02's into about any head, sometimes it even hurts the flow if you don't shape the bowl to accomodate. With that cam I wouldn't bother putting anything but the best stock heads on it, preferrably an aftermarket set.

K

Click to expand...

I am not worried that you are "jumping my bones", I am saying I took the statement as if he had a good set of bare heads already and just needs to outfit them. If my assumption was wrong then I apologize. Of course until he clarifies the statement, we won't know.

I do agree with you on your statement, just hogging any old set of heads to accomodate 2.02 valves is not necessarily going to help.