Making It All Work
We left a few things, such as headers, off the engine, since they will be up to the end user. Ken himself recommends a primary length of 34 inches, and 1 5/8-inch diameter primary tubes. Final selection will be made based on body type and final application. Here are a few other items to consider when building a stroker 318 that won't be bullied around any longer.
The Cost Of Power
So you want to get your grimy little mitts on one of these stealth bombers? There are a few things to consider, like how do you want it built? That's right, you can have it your way, to an extent. Ken gave a couple options you can get with the approximate price.
Street Rods and mild street performance $6,495
- Reconditioned 318 block
- MP cast 4-inch crank
- Forged Ross Pistons and Moly Rings
- Eagle SIR connecting rods
- HRE Street/Strip Blueprint Series 360 heads
- Hydraulic cam and lifters
- Heavy duty Rocker gear
- Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
- Double roller timing chain.
- MP black wrinkle finish valve covers
- MP oil pan and pickup
- New Harmonic balancer
- B&M Flexplate
- Balanced, blueprinted, and assembled by Hensley Racing
Bracket Buster $7,895
- Reconditioned 318 block
- MP cast 4-inch crank
- Forged Ross Pistons and Moly Rings
- Eagle H-beam connecting rods
- Edelbrock heads with Phase 1 port and polish
- Solid cam and lifters
- Adjustable iron rockers
- Edelbrock Victor 340 intake
- Double roller timing chain.
- MP black wrinkle finish valve covers
- Milodon 7-quart oil pan, pickup and HV pump
- New SFI harmonic balancer
- B&M Flexplate
- Balanced, blueprinted, and assembled by Hensley Racing
Regardless of the heads selected,...
Regardless of the heads selected, quality valvetrain hardware is critical. There are various rocker arms and accessories used to make those lumps on your cam open and close the valves. Again, in street applications, most engines can get by with a non-adjustable stamped-steel rocker. these are heavy-duty versions from Mopar Performance on our motor.
Want to 'rock' with something...
Want to 'rock' with something a little more radical? For mechanical and roller cams, you can select from versions done by Crane, Harland Sharp, Indy, Norris, Competition Cams and Mopar; Hensley carries them all. For high-lift, big-spring applications, aftermarket rocker shafts that won't flex like the factory OEM versions will also be a part of the valvetrain rebuilding.
The standard basic package...
The standard basic package for a street application will use factory 360 heads that have been completely redone by Hensley's shop crew, with all new hardware and a great multi-angle valve job and bowl clean up. So your 318 now includes a pair of street/strip heads that are pressure-tested, surface-milled for clean up, and have bronze-wall valveguides installed for starters. To this, you can add swirl-polished, stainless-steel valves (2.02 intake/1.60 exhaust), 10-degree Comp Cams valve locks, Manley retainers, and MP single-coil or Comp Cams or Crane double-coil springs based on application. The springs are also checked for spring height and pressure.
If you have the dough and...
If you have the dough and desire, the next step would be a set of Edelbrock's aluminum beauties, which will also get port work that Hensley Performance refers to as Stage 1. This includes bowl cleanup and runner smoothing. Again, name-brand parts are part of the package that Edelbrock puts together, and the Performer RPM intake that comes standard on every 402 stroker engine was designed for these babies.
If you really need your 402...
If you really need your 402 to flat-out scream, Hensley will set up the short-block to work with these aluminum 'heavy metal' (in name only) gems from Indy Cylinder Heads. The Indy heads will flow more fuel than anything else available off-the-shelf, but the matching high-rise, single-plane intake is really more of a race-only piece that turns on as the rpm climb above 5,500 or so. Other changes to the basic stroker package will be needed to get the revs up high enough to make the Indy heads work effectively.
Time Loves a Hero We all...
Time Loves a Hero
We all know that camshaft selection can be daunting, but the crate engine ideal has taken a lot of the guesswork out. For this engine, Ken prefers to stick with the Comp Cams Extreme Energy H274 design (.488/.491), which will be a terrific hydraulic bumpstick for most street applications. but, in the end, he makes the final cam selection based on the customer's needs.
Induction Ceremony The standard...
Induction Ceremony
The standard intake that HRE uses on this package is Edelbrock Performer RPM, which works very well with the increased displacement. Mopar Muscle readers who follow our tech writing will be familiar with this dual-plane design, as it really works. For this combination, a 750 Demon from Barry Grant is used.
Here is the crew of the shop...
Here is the crew of the shop and what they do when they are not busy building your engine-helping Matt with his wheelstanding SS/A Hemi Barracuda that is the current IHRA national record holder. Virtually all the hardware on this beast came right from the shop, including Matt's own custom Hemi intakes. From left: Matt, Ken, and Jack Moore are behind the car, while Sam Tyler and Richie Corum are in front of the back fender.
Joe Tackett and Tony Smith...
Joe Tackett and Tony Smith are the guys you will talk to when you call. Like the rest of the HRE team, these guys are all-Mopar, all the time.