[308] Black 308 in to 355 stroker .

[Fusion]

Hi Guys . After a bit of info about stroking a black 308 ( rope seal ) . I was in at auto pro today asking about getting my block set up for a 355 and said that it was not a good choice with the older holden block . I was told to get a VN onwards block and go from there . But i have everything set up to run the older motor plus just spent $1000 on a reco trimatic . I understand that the VN heads are a sheet load better than the old girls . But from what this bloke was saying is that something to do with the casting and the machining that needed to be done could result in the block leaking water .

Is it really worth doing a 355 stroker in the black 308 ?????

 

[Teletran1]

Only need a VN or later block if you want a 4-bolt mains as they had thicker webbing at the mains. Depends what you want to use it for, but you can still get good grunt out of old heads.
Apart from clearancing the base of your bores for your rods with the longer stroke there is no other machining involved. If you take your time to achieve a consistent 0.080" gap clearance then hitting water isnt even worth worrying about.

 

[soop]

You'll need a VN onward block if you want it in anything newer then VN.
Not all VN's aren't 4 bolt mains, the one I have in the Shed (VQ motor) isn't 2 bolt. Conversion is fairly straight forward though. If its for a older car, the Black block will be fine to start with.
Get yourself some VN heads, because nothing is interchangeable between the older heads and the VN heads, you'll need new exhaust manifolds and intake manifold. But the gains are well worth the outlay.

Be very carefull what stroker kit you buy, the cheap kits on ebay are procomp, DO NOT WANT.
Get yourself a Scat stroker kit. Never heared a bad thing about them, rumoured to be one the best on the market for the holden V8.
And be aware that you'll need to have the rotating assembly balanced. Not a big deal but they're never done from the factory (I mean the factory that makes the stroker kits).

I'm doing this exact thing at the moment, So I'm happy to pass on any information you might want.

 

[383 hatch]

Not all VN's are 4 bolt mains, the one I have in the Shed (VQ motor) is 2 bolt.

Most VN's aren't 4 bolt mains, only VN Group A are 4 bolt mains....

On topic, an early block is fine for 355, it's only when you go 383 that you run into water dramas.

 

[soop]

**** yeah, thats what I meant!!!!

I thought it, just didn't type it.

 

[Fusion]

Thanks guys . The stroker i'll be getting is a scat kit . wouldn't go near procomp crap . I bought a distributor clamp and not even that can stop the dizzy from moving !