Re: 408 Stroker 351

On 10/26/2024 5:41 PM, Snag wrote:

On 10/26/2024 5:53 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:

Among the the things my dad left behind is an 82 Bronco that he reported was parked with low oil pressure.  I talked with my mom and I am going to keep it (tentatively anyway).
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I picked up a book about boring and stroking those engines for a variety of applications.  I was thinking since that 351W may need a crank kit anyway (maybe not, but that is a topic for another post) I might consider a nice "square bore" bore and stroke to 408 for gobs of mid range torque and to build a back up tow vehicle.  I have towed with this vehicle before.  Some pretty decent loads given its basically a 1/2 ton chassis.
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It turns out this sort of thing is so common for these small block Fords that there are a number of off the shelf kits for it.  Pistons, rods, crank all packaged together.  Its not cheap, but nowhere near as expensive as I would have thought either.  There are bigger bore and stroke kits, but they are intended to run at higher RPMs.  The "square bore" is a common term for high torque engines across multiple genre. In fact one of the common popular engines for load carrying Harley EVO baggers was a 100" square bore from S&S.  I don't know if S&S still makes EVOs since they have their own v-Twin engine now, but that's not the point.
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My primary use will more likely be hunting and fishing in hard to reach locations where I don't want to tear up my F250.  If it doubles as a backup tow rig well, then I can probably justify all the work.
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Anyway, if this is something you guys might be interested in I'll be happy to post more often about it if/when it gets started.  I expect it will be a lot of work to restore to 100% functional having sat for 20+ years, but there will likely be some metalworking.
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    There always is ... I'm contemplating installing body repair panels on my truck . Rocker panels are Swiss cheese  as is the bed over the wheel wells and bottom rear corners . I seem to recall Jim posting about MIG welding in patches .

Tailgates on those Broncos tend to rust out because the drains get plugged with dust, window seals go bad, and any rain runs down the window into the door.  This one is no exception.  If I keep it that WILL get repaired one way or another.  There is a "camper glass" conversion done on some of these that I will be looking into.  First I'll have to figure out how to get the window down so I can open the tailgate.
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Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
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