AMC 401 Stroker?

[GodzillaJeeper]

I have seen a few things on the net about possibly stroking an AMC 401 with Chevy 400 rods. I have also found a set of Keith Black Pistons listed as ideal for this while it does require you to drill out the holes in the pistons to .9292" to accept the Chevy rod. I am in the process of tearing down my 401 to rebuild the block and I am very interested in this. I did some homework on the Chevy Strokers and I see there are 3 different 400 rod lengths offered. There is a 6.0" long rod offered. The 401 has a 5.858" long rod. I was wondering if I could pull off putting the 6.0" Chevy rod in my block. Sounds very interesting! Anybody know anything about this? :D

[rock-rod]

I have seen a few things on the net about possibly stroking an AMC 401 with Chevy 400 rods. I have also found a set of Keith Black Pistons listed as ideal for this while it does require you to drill out the holes in the pistons to .9292" to accept the Chevy rod. I am in the process of tearing down my 401 to rebuild the block and I am very interested in this. I did some homework on the Chevy Strokers and I see there are 3 different 400 rod lengths offered. There is a 6.0" long rod offered. The 401 has a 5.858" long rod. I was wondering if I could pull off putting the 6.0" Chevy rod in my block. Sounds very interesting! Anybody know anything about this? :D

I wheeled with a guy from Phoenix a number of years ago and he had a 445 CI AMC V8. He used an offset ground AMC 401 crank, custom 6.0 inch Chevy style rods, and custom pistons. That thing was a beast and made an easy 500hp. He used to run Glamis with it. It can be done, but I think it will get real spendy in a big hurry.

[ddestruel]

http://www.bulltear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1473&highlight=stroker+401

try that thread itll help you a fair amount

[GodzillaJeeper]

Yeah, I have heard a couple of these stories. I am pretty excited about this idea. I have a good machinist and I realize it will be spendy, but then if I wanted the cheapest route, I would be running a Chevy smallblock. I know I don't necessarily need 500 h.p., but it would be freaking cool to make sick big block power with a Jeep small block. I have already ported and polished my heads and milled them down too. I am currently running 10 to 1 compression, but I made the mistake of not redoing the bottom end. This time I am going full tilt. If anybody else knows anything about this then holler at me. Thanks, Jesse.

[ddestruel]

contact MC here or on Bulltear

or contact Herman Lewis via searching around for his name on the internet, he's a good resource too.

there are other avenues too for building mad power with an AMC. check out the AMC401 thread here on pirates too

[TEX]

Just to be clear, stroke has absolutely NOTHING to do with rod length or type. Different rods work better with different cranks & blocks, but your stroke is 100% dependent on the crankshaft & nothing else.

That said, I've seen a few 432" stroked 401's over the years.

TEX

[Steve N]

What Tex said

[superslayer]

The new car craft has a build up on a 401 this month. 484hp and 500lb ft of torque from ported amc iron heads. I don't know how much help that article would be but there is some pretty good ideas in it.

[MC]

I think what he meant by rods is that the chevy bushed rods come in many different lengths and depending on the length your quench can change enough for a different style piston to be utilized. Using a chevy rod allows you to take the stock 401 crank and offset grind it and you can use a stock chevy bearing. You can also use honda bearings (thicker) for more of a offset than a 2" journal but still use the chevy rod and have the better of both worlds. Clearance is the only thing holding back massive AMC strokers...but just adding a little bit of a stroke really makes a powerful engine in this case.

[GodzillaJeeper]

MC is right on as far as my plan. I am realizing that there is a lot involved in this process and I am fearing that I am getting in over my head! Do I need to find a great machinist and just trust my fate in his hands or what!? I have noticed that 360 rods are almost 20 thousandths longer than 401 rods. This would equate to shaving this much off the heads and hence jump the compression up. Does anybody see this as worth while? Do 360 rods bolt directly on 401 crank? I have already ported and polished the heads on my 401 and I am learning that I may have actually hurt my compression ratio by doing this. I already have the 58 cc chambers. I did shave off like 30 thousandths off the heds when I did this, but I am not sure that this fully compensated for the material that was removed from the chambers. Any input on either points?

[MC]

fwew...When I get more time I will answer all your ?'s

[rock-rod]

MC is right on as far as my plan. I am realizing that there is a lot involved in this process and I am fearing that I am getting in over my head! Do I need to find a great machinist and just trust my fate in his hands or what!? I have noticed that 360 rods are almost 20 thousandths longer than 401 rods. This would equate to shaving this much off the heads and hence jump the compression up. Does anybody see this as worth while? Do 360 rods bolt directly on 401 crank? I have already ported and polished the heads on my 401 and I am learning that I may have actually hurt my compression ratio by doing this. I already have the 58 cc chambers. I did shave off like 30 thousandths off the heds when I did this, but I am not sure that this fully compensated for the material that was removed from the chambers. Any input on either points?

MC is the one to answer your ?s.

The only thing I will add is to not use 360 rods. They are cast steel, not forged steel like the 401 rods. Also, 360 rods use smaller dia rod bearings so they will not it the 401 crank.