Now that it seems we will be getting blocks again, is there one size of stroker that sticks in your mind as the best combination?


No horsepower or ET goals, just wanting to know what combo works well and will live a long happy life.

426- 472- 528 - 572 - 604 or ?

Just trying to learn the in's and out's of building such a creature.

depends on the bore of your block - cant go wrong with cubic inches! personally I think the 4.5 bore x 4.5 stroke is one of the best combo's

Ray Barton likes 528, I like 572

I am looking at the new Muscle Motors block. From what I read 4.500 bore is no problem at all.

I went with 4.5 x 4.5 572 , then had second thoughts on why I didn't op for the 604 cube for the same amount of money. 32 cubes must be worth some power. But for me as of now I will never know.

Depends on what your goals are.With my mega block that was purchased 10 years ago,I chose to start with a 4.310 bore and 4.5 stroke so I would always have room to grow.

It's NOT if,,,,,,it's when you need to go larger

I debated this same question last year. Ultimately, I went with Ray Barton and 540". The reason I didn't go any bigger was that I was building a mostly street driven car and even with 295 drag radials and Cal- Tracs, full throttle is possible only from a roll. And risky, even at that.

My 540 is mild; it idles at 850, has good street manners, runs fine on 91 pump swill (maybe even lower octane, I just haven't tried) and made 700hp on the engine dyno.

With today's new blocks and heads, there is no real down side to big cubic inches. But then, on the street, it is difficult if not impossible to use all the power that comes with those inches. And I won't go into the fact that these things can get down right scary on occasion.

Before you decide think about rod ratios with the different combos. I have a 528, but it is backwards with a 41/2 stroke and 4.32 bore. Everybody else in the world uses a 4.50 bore for a 528 cause of the rod ratio.

Go as big as your wallet will let you. I love my 605, it will run on any pump gas and the torque trys to kill me all the time. The thing is just a monster on the street.Dave

I will give you my 2-cents on Hemi "stokers"....lol

I have a 604 aluminum Hemi....Had it a few years now, and its a beast...

What we see between tear downs is a lot of side wall scuffing from the short piston skirts. Maybe the big builders don't like to talk about it, but after re-building, I would go 572....Don't get me wrong, I will take the extra cubes, but I think a lot of builders don't tell you about a lot of things on the big engines until you find out for yourself.

I also think at the 4.5 bore, the sleeves should be a little thicker to help reduce any distortion. I do not have a really good gauge to measure if the bore distorted or is just that thin and its just the short skirts, but it does worry me to spin it up there. We do not see any roundness issue on our gauge, but there is an interaction in there that we see in the bores after a season on it.

A better rod angle would be preferred on a street engine for sure. Other things, I would like in a block, better valley oil drain back. I like the looks of the new KB better than my Indy as the valley looks to have a lot less places to store oil up in it than the Indy...Oil control on a big engine is the key to making it live.

Lastly, a more open pan area where the pan rail is more open with the big stroker...I should have gone that route on mine.

Thanks for the replies so far. I found a good deal on a set of diamond pistons tonight- new for $ 300 but they will only make a 484". Not the end of the world I know but I would love to make something over 500"

Randy is right about piston scuffing but most people don't intend to put 50,000 miles on one either. It's one of those thing you live with. With good heads and cam and 605 inches you can make obscene horsepower and diesel-like torque.
Whichever way you go I guarantee an ear to ear grin.Dave

My 572" (4.5" x 4.5") KB block hemi has been pretty much flawless since I originally built it in 2006. Ran mid 9s making somewhere north of 800 hp for about 8 years, then I put nitrous on it. Has been 8s at 3900 lbs and still no trouble yet. In hindsight, I wish I'd have gone w/ a 4.75" stroke for 604"...same cost, more cubes.

I have all the parts to assemble a 540" hemi (4.5" bore, 4.25" stroke) w/ a World block for my dad's car.

Thanks for the replies. Even though I found a deal on the pistons it seems like I should be looking at bigger cubes.

Sometimes people think they found "a deal" on some pistons. 99.99% of the time they are old, no tech pistons that aren't worth a single penny. Modern pistons with modern rings can be worth 100 HP. Modern pistons are one of the reasons Hemi's make 800-900 HP now instead of 425.

We have done many 528" for street applications and they live long and perform well.Skip 540" for hemi,it works well with a wedge.If you want the brute torque and hp at reasonable rpms go 572",605" or 588".My best performance in race application was my 588".Large displacement engines make the most torque and hp with consertative builds.

My friend is having a 4.25 x 4.25 482" Hemi new stock block,Indy SR Heads,Molnar Crank and Rods,Diamond Pistons, Solid Roller, Eldelbrock Intake, Pump gas setup built for his original 69 Hemi Roadrunner. Its being built at Bob George Racing by AJ Casini. AJ is currently bolting it to the engine stand and it is going to be fired and broke in any day now. We hope to have the Car ready for the Curt George Memorial Meet at Keystone Raceway Park in mid June. If anyone is interested I will report on the Performance. This car is going to be street driven also. The Edelbrock Intake is being used because it fits under the original Air Grabber Hood.

Yep I would love to know the performance. Thanks!

Thanks for the info! You guys have any hemi blocks there? I was thinking of buying the muscle motors one.

I am having a 489" Combo built for me currently at FHO, I will post the progress as well.