Who Know's, European Motor Works,Ca

[flmont]

Spoke with a guy there today, about my Big Four build,..He seems to be on the money,...has anyone built a type 4 engine with them,...there located in Hawthorne, CA

[0396]

Originally Posted by flmont

Spoke with a guy there today, about my Big Four build,..He seems to be on the money,...has anyone built a type 4 engine with them,...there located in Hawthorne, CA

Jorge at European know his stuff.

[flmont]

Thanks 0396...prices seem really good compared to other shops,...when it comes to stroking that engine ??? Thanks...Frank

[John Rogers]

In the past I owned two stroked big fours and we found out there are right and wrong ways to do the machine work. The price should be the last item you worry about doing this. The important items are the crank, size of the journals, who makes it and how well they last. Next are the rods and there are what are called short stroker and long stroker rods and several companies make these. Next is the camshaft clearance and lifters and we used to have custom ground cams and type 1 lifters for internal clearance. Next are the cylinders which have to be clearanced for the rods and be able to handle the stresses. Next are the heads and they have to be able to flow enough to make the stroker engine produce the power. Large valves and good seats are mandatory and we ended up using titanium valves, dual springs and roller rockers from Pauter. Last of all is the case and how well it is machined and can hold everything together. Type four cases are a terrible design and at high (200HP +) HP levels the internals will move all around.

On top of all that you should probably invest in a dry sump system for engine life and a larger than stock oil filter. You will need some larger diameter custom headers from a supplier such as European George.

When racing, I used to be able to get 2 to 3 race weekends before we had issues with a stroker four cylinder. I finally put in a hot rodded six and it lasted 28 race weekends before a connecting rod broke. In the long run it was a much more cost effective way to go.

[flmont]

who would you recomend John,..he said (European George)that he has been doing this since the 80's and has been pretty successful with it, Iam not looking for 200HP (anymore LOL),..I was thinking 78 MM Crank with 96 MM flat top PC's or so,.with a decent cam (web 186 I think) and larger valves. he told me thats about 140-150 HP,..but didnt know torque numbers off the top of his head,..as Ive said Iam looking for strong Torque numbers more than,..HP ???.....Thanks Frank

[John Rogers]

It has been a few years now but I would suggest the following in no particular order. You can do a search to get their telephone numbers and such as I don't have them any longer. For 140 HP or so, you can just go with a bigger bore, better heads and cam and headers. The 78mm stroker brings on lots of possible problems.

Wayne Baker Racing, in San Diego
Jim Patrick in Phoenix
John Rickard, Black Forest in San Diego
Klaus Holthaus, NARW in Reseda CA
Sean Molloy, San Diego Autosport Racing in San Diego
Frank Beck in Phoenix

Several of these will probably not want to do a big four but it won't hurt to talk to them.

Finally if you plan to race it or auto-x the car then you want a better gear set and a limited slip which runs the cost to $4000 or so for gears, bearings, better shifter, limited slip, etc, etc.

[Matt Monson]

Just the LSD with new bearings, side cover and a proper set up will run you $4k.

[flmont]

Yea I wont race it,..I just want it to move along,...What size bore would you go with John,....????

[John Rogers]

For street use and an auto-x now and then I'd say go with a 2L with higher compresion, etc or even a 2.2L with slightly higher compression, mild cam, good heads and headers. If you get too radical you'll need high octane gas since carbs are now where near as efficient as a modern automotive brain.

[flmont]

Ok John,...I can live with that,...Thanks....Frank