383 Stroker Kits?

[jimmy'sjimmy]

Has anyone used a kit from Strokerkits.com? Im lookin for a 383 kit for the Jimmy. I have the block at the machine shop now, getting bored and cleaned and what not. The guy told me to just buy a kit that came with everything. He did suggest that i get an internally balanced kit but it seems like all the internally balanced kits with a 1 piece seal are $$$. I was looking at the ones from Summit but $1K will pretty much destroy the budget. I have time to save and all but i was wondering if anyone else used a kit that was cheaper? Any suggestions would help. I have researched on the boards and some people are saying kits from $500-$1000 all i can find are the $1000.

Ohh and Ive looked on EBAY too but some kits seem shaddy.

 

[jimmy'sjimmy]

I just found a kit on gofaststuff.com for $789
Anyone have anything better they have seen?

 

[jimmy'sjimmy]

Anyone have anything to say about a 383 kit? Anything?

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Most kits use Scat or Eagle cranks, both of which are made overseas. I have heard nightmare stories about cranks not being straight, machined incorrectly, etc. I found a 400 crank and a 383 piston ring kit for slightly more than any of the other kits I found, so I went with that. On the other side, there are tons of people out there that run Eagle and Scat stuff with no problems, so they can't be that bad. If you have checked ebay and google, you have probably seen pretty much everything there is to see.

 

[sled_dog]

piece it together from name brand parts. Mine is Eagle crank, stock rods, Speed Pro Pistons, and rings, no idea what bearings. The hard parts cost me I'd say about $500 all together(had the rods). I did not get an internally balanced kit, I DO recommend you get one... DO NOT buy a pre balanced kit. I hate those things and the idea of them. A good balance should include your balancer and flexplate/flywheel, a rotating assembly prebalanced without these either leaves them to chance or takes for granted that these parts are nuetrally balanced, which when you buy them from summit or similar they almost never are.

 

[jimmy'sjimmy]

If I get it piece by piece and buy an internally balanced Scat crank will I still have to take it to get balanced after I get the whole assembly together?

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Yep, cost me about $150 I think

 

[sled_dog]

If I get it piece by piece and buy an internally balanced Scat crank will I still have to take it to get balanced after I get the whole assembly together?

yes, internally balanced does not mean, "balanced assembly". You don't, NEED to balance an engine, but of the ones I've built, I've had one that wasn't balanced. I will never put an engine together unbalanced again. Lets just say she didn't care for RPMs(say much more than 5-5,500, and didn't get there in a hurry.