WHOOPS! Yep, not a Model A, but no difference in terms of size. BEAUTIFUL X3 manifold! I am trully jealous that you have that intake! AWESOME! Yes, weigh your options. I think the answer to your ultimate question of "how do I stroke a 392 Hemi" is already said. Just figure out if it's worth it. I think you will find you can do backwards flips in that little coupe with what you have already. Whatever you do, please keep us posted and make sure you take pictures! We like pictures and tech!! Especially when it comes to early Hemis... But then, I could be a little biased...
You guys will have to forgive Joel...he's used to making big-ass, heavy Hemi cars run F.A.S.T. using a stock block, factory heads, intake and exhaust manifolds. He knows how to put a damn quick car together, and if he can run 10s on resto-bias ply tires, he should be able to get that Hemi into the 11s. Hey Joel, good to see you on here. Call Bob Walker at Hot Heads and get his opinion on stroking a Hemi. -Brad
I'm currently building a bigblock Mopar 440ci, stroked to 496", with Indy heads and a 'Kuhl' 8/71 blower on top... WHY? I dunno... Because I want to! Heck I don't even know in what car of mine I'm going to put this motor yet when it's done. When I took my 392 Hemi apart some time ago I found a badly scared and worn down nr.5 rod-journal. With the money it would cost me to fix this, I really started looking for options to either buy a stroker-crank, but hey, where talking Hemi's here... so no luck. So reluctantly I stuck with the stock crank and had it fixed for a lot of money. I really hated it because I have never spend a pretty large sum of cash on an engine that's still 'stock' afterwards. About the offset-grinding to a smaller rod-diameter; Personally, I think the small amount of added stroke won't really give much extra torque. You'll really want the added length of the crank-arm, somewhat like the difference between a B-crank and a RB-crank.
Wow, I thought those X-3's were rare - but everytime I turn around I see another one!!! Are these being re-popped or are they all orgional??? BTW - contrary to popular belief you can build a relatively cheap hemi -but like anything else in life - saving the money WILL cost you something else - usually lots and lots of time.
Looks just like the setup I sold to a guy in Minneapolis / St Paul few years back. except the carbs were complete with rebuild kits and throttle linkage parts..just wondering if it's the same one....Willys replacement parts , good quality on the repro parts I recieved from them.
I've got a pair of old Delta 5/8 cranks, one with a spun rod bearing that would need welding/regrinding and it should be magged to check for cracks. I'd be willing to sell that one, but it wouldn't be cheap and it needs work to be usable. 440 rods can be made to fit, but they're .200" shorter than the 392 rods so you'll need custom pistons. I've yet to come across any factory pistons that will swap into it.
The cheepest way is a welded stroker most any good crankshaft shop can do it, but you'll need custom pistons. if you stick with a flat top piston the price shouldn't be too bad .i'd give venolia a call.
The Jalopy Journal
