Upgrading Your 318 Stroker Crate Motor - Iron Lung Sucker Punch

Let's face it, as motorheads, we play little head games with each other. Of course, if that head being gamed is Hemi-derived, a simple look under the bonnet will shut up the naysayers. We get a somewhat perverse thrill out of psyching each other out a bit. Take this gem here-looks pretty serious, right? Well, it began life as a two-barrel 318, the most common V-8 in the world of Mopars. So you could tell that inquisitive mind giving it the eyeball that it's a 318, and ya wouldn't be lyin'. Of course, just like Charles Atlas' old ads in the comic books, this former 98-pound weakling is done getting kicked in the face.

For starters, it now sports a crank and reciprocating parts that have boosted the internal displacement by over 80 cubes, for a total of 402 inches that will stomp those 5.0 girlie men into the dirt in a heads-up battle. It's topped off with a bunch of tasty goodies, so you might want to think twice before swapping a heavier big-block into your ride.

We first saw this engine in its finished state at Hensley Racing Enterprises, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Ken and Alice Hensley have run this particular Chrysler-oriented operation since 1996, when they bought out retiring Chrysler maven Herb McCandless. their background in Mopar parts dates back to the '60s with a speed equipment business in their family-owned Dodge dealership. Ken has been a Chrysler loyalist throughout the last 35-plus years, either as a businessman or a racer. Today, the firm's large building, located off the Clinton Highway, features a retail store out front, while son Matt and a crew of talented merry men are in the machine shop massaging parts and building engines for customers. What makes Hensley unique in this particular project is they are building stroker small-block engines as 'crate designs,' which the Hensleys sell under the HRE Blueprint Series.

"These are not crate motors in the conventional sense," states Ken. "We know each engine application is different, and we really want to find out what the customer wants before we start putting one of these motors together. Basically, what we do is use a select number of parts that have proven to work, and combine them into a specific package that meets the customer's needs. Where we are different from some other engine builders is that we have the hardware here to build the basic package pretty quick. The bottom end is similar across the board, and we change things here and there as the customer's needs dictate."

Hensley Performance offers the engine in a variety of power levels, ranging from a torquey stump-puller for towing, to a roller-cammed bracket engine. So we came to the Volunteer State to get the lowdown on brewing up the 318 stroker 'crate motor.' Since you will probably want to know the pocket wallop before getting started, the price of the basic 402 intake-to-pan stroker is just under $6,500 from Hensley, which is very economical when you realize the pre-use teardown some other crate engines may require is not needed. This package has been built by Mopar-racing guys who take a lot of pride in doing it right-period. It uses name-brand parts and high-quality machine work for a butt-kicking final combination. The version shown here will cost a little more, since we utilized the Edelbrock head option.

Of course, you could certainly do this buildup at home. you can also call the Hensley's shop at 865/947-0426 and talk to someone about your specific application, and they'll either put one together for you or sell you all the parts you need. Regardless of the method that works best for you, here's how it's done