I am thinking about stroking my '72 4 bolt main 350 while I have it out of the car. The history on the engine is flat top pistons with Dart Iron eagles and an unknown cam. Supposedly it has about 1k miles on the bottom end. Can I just flip her over on the stand, pop out the crank and drop in a 3.75 crank? (Plasti-guaging the rod and main bearings of course). Do I need to worry about piston to head clearance? I was hoping to not have to remove the heads, manifold, push rods ect let alone doing any machine work. If I need to measure the piston height can I just pop one out the bottom an put it back in that way? Will it clear the mains and will I be able to get the rings in the bore?

Thanks guys

Lazy Bill

Don't you wish it were that easy?

Unfortunately, the deck height of the block is fixed at 9" and a smidge. Adding another 1/8" of stroke will put the pistons clear out the top of the deck, unless the rod length or piston compression hieght was reduced to compensate.

Ya I am not even sure of the deck height as it is, thanks Jim as always you have proven to be an excellent source here on TC. I guess I will have to wait until I break something before I stroke it :) Any ideas on how to identify my cam while its in the engine but the engine is out of the car? What about the pistons, can I ID those as well without pulling the heads?

If its an aftermarket of the shelf cam, the easiest way to identify what you have in there is to remove the flywheel/flexplate, and remove the freeze plug that sits directly behind the cam. The grind number is normally etched or stamped right there.

If its an aftermarket of the shelf cam, the easiest way to identify what you have in there is to remove the flywheel/flexplate, and remove the freeze plug that sits directly behind the cam. The grind number is normally etched or stamped right there.


I started a new thread on the cam ID question http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=61547