Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey guys i'm about to get my rooted 308 rebuilt and stroked out to 355ci.
just wana know will the motor still be reliable for long trips and what other components of the motor will i also have to upgrade?
any recomended.

If your getting your 308 rebuilt by a reputable engine reconditioner this would be a very good question to ask them.If your not you've just opened a very big can of worms,I've seen these motors last from ten years to ten minutes,depends on how well they are built and how well they are serviced and driven.Cheap parts give cheap reliability and an experienced hand on the spanners is alway's a good start.

yes they are a very reputable builder. bin around a long time.

known 2 wrote:yes they are a very reputable builder. bin around a long time.

Who is it?

gold coast engine rebuilders. on lower west burliegh road.

should probly move this to general tech. i posted in the wrong section.

i'm new to v8's and i want a bit more power so any advice on what heads or manifolds, cams i should be using for a good balance. or is it best to leave the top standard?

The two ways i know of are Harrop crank and th other is offset grind old crank to smaller journal size....the later is not as reliable as the former...
i would strongly recommend you sell the 08 and buy a 350 or rebuild with lower comp and run a centrifical blower....better result for thesame outlay

The longer the stroke, the more strain you put on little end and big end bearings. There is more inertia at top and bottom of the stroke.

mud guts wrote:The longer the stroke, the more strain you put on little end and big end bearings. There is more inertia at top and bottom of the stroke.

Yep, better to get longer rod and piston with pin higher up, all custon stuff, all big $$ because the piston changes direction faster with a shorter rod, the cam overlap has to be smaller aswell...or a large overlap cam will loose too much fuel out the exhaust....

I know of 3 Harrop cranks that have broken off at the snout, there appears to be some very strange harmonics happening on the 355 stroker combo.
Regards Andrew.

pretty sure you need to get the lifter bore's re aligned with the strokers

we did one at my okld work and it was a common problem kept takin out lifters after a few hundred kays get the bores lined tho and it'll be sweet

Can you give me an idea of what the cost is going to be?

defo get a 1 piece crank. had nothing but troubles when I had a offset ground crank.

Personally I`d never have a stroker again,you`d be best off getting a 350 and go a mild bore.

make sure you get the block x-rayed before you spend any money on it. even think about using a 304 block

yeh sounds like i'm going to run into more problems than gains here. might just replace the curent motor with a stocker. this is the 2nd motor it's gone through since it was converted to v8 in 2000.
over $30,000 spent since then just to keep it on the road so it looks like it's just a demon spawned from hell to drian it's owners pockets.

awill4x4 wrote:I know of 3 Harrop cranks that have broken off at the snout, there appears to be some very strange harmonics happening on the 355 stroker combo.
Regards Andrew.

Were they on supercharged cars? What RPM were they doin when they broke? Also, were they cast or forged cranks?

Sorry for all the questions, im going down this path and trying to deside on what brand combo to buy......

if you decide to go with it i would suggest vn 304 heads

even better, complete vn 304 motor swap,fuel injected, fair amount of power (especially bundled with a cam or even supercharged)

known 2 wrote:hey guys i'm about to get my rooted 308 rebuilt and stroked out to 355ci.
just wana know will the motor still be reliable for long trips and what other components of the motor will i also have to upgrade?
any recomended.

v8 overrated they dont do water and they love adrink you need to own a sevo ,no sevos in the bush!!!!!!!!
go a turbo diesel cheap to run love mud and water you just cant kill em
the hole you got stuck in diesels go though like a hot knife though butter

Turbo V8 chev diesel
Bosses mate has on in 45? i think and it's choice can't see why it'd be to hard to do in a 80 and what a machine

a different engine isn't realy an option for me. lucky there are plenty of 308's around still. fuel injection is to hard and expensive i like to keep it simple with this pos 75.

Set it up properly and the V8 4by will plow through anything. Again set it up properly and the V8 will last a long long time , be very economical and blow away diesels everytime ! bang for your buck a V8 wins hands down in my book.
For the cost of a diesel pump rebuild & tweak in my old set up (Turbo diesel) I did some head work fitted triple valve springs, new valves, a set of rollers & a custom cam to my 308.
Guess which mod gave the best result ? and that was over 2 years ago.
Car is used daily as well as weekend duties offroad and returns 14.5-15.5 ltrs per 100kms on LPG (and when aggrivated goes like a cut cat) .
Yep I like the V8

SLOGQ wrote:

awill4x4 wrote:I know of 3 Harrop cranks that have broken off at the snout, there appears to be some very strange harmonics happening on the 355 stroker combo.
Regards Andrew.

Were they on supercharged cars? What RPM were they doin when they broke? Also, were they cast or forged cranks?
Sorry for all the questions, im going down this path and trying to deside on what brand combo to buy......

Neither vehicle was supercharged.
One was in a VS Clubsport that did occasional trackwork and the other vehicle had it happen twice on their work delivery ute. The one that it happened twice to was owned and built by a reputable engine reconditioner here in Melbourne who is a stickler for detail.
Harrop replaced the delivery ute cranks without a question.
Regards Andrew.

known 2 wrote:a different engine isn't realy an option for me. lucky there are plenty of 308's around still. fuel injection is to hard and expensive i like to keep it simple with this pos 75.

A VN/VP EFI is simple as to set up, most of the hard work is done for you if it had a turbo pattern motor in the first place.......

All i think you would have to do is a high pressure fuel pump, EFI exhuast manifoilds and hook up about 4 wires..... and driving an EFI v8 over a carbi one is a massive diffrence.....

known 2 wrote:a different engine isn't realy an option for me. lucky there are plenty of 308's around still. fuel injection is to hard and expensive i like to keep it simple with this pos 75.

$3000 ypu can have this vn 5lts use the motor and piss the rest off 220 kw
but as i said when you are up to your tits in mud v8 allways stop

i got a 350 chev for sale believd to be good condition only needs a carby got set of standard exhaust manifolds and extractors to with it pm me if interested

known 2 wrote:a different engine isn't realy an option for me. lucky there are plenty of 308's around still. fuel injection is to hard and expensive i like to keep it simple with this pos 75.

Fuel Injection too hard and too expensive Yet your wanting to build a 355 stroker Your not making much sence. By the Time you finish a 355 with all the ancilleries it is going to need you could have bought 3 VN EFI 5ltrs. Your not going to build a reliable 355 for under 6K.

And the first time you drown it its going to be the same POS you started with but this time its going to be an expensive POS.

As long as your adapter is a chev pattern then buy a stock injected 5ltr. You wont find a more reliable engine for the money. And parts are everywhere. Every Auto parts shop carries spares for these. There no monster but its going to have more power and more drivability then what you currently have(assuming a stock 308) And they are simple to wire up. Really simple.

RUFF wrote:

known 2 wrote:a different engine isn't realy an option for me. lucky there are plenty of 308's around still. fuel injection is to hard and expensive i like to keep it simple with this pos 75.

Fuel Injection too hard and too expensive Yet your wanting to build a 355 stroker Your not making much sence. By the Time you finish a 355 with all the ancilleries it is going to need you could have bought 3 VN EFI 5ltrs. Your not going to build a reliable 355 for under 6K.

And the first time you drown it its going to be the same POS you started with but this time its going to be an expensive POS.

As long as your adapter is a chev pattern then buy a stock injected 5ltr. You wont find a more reliable engine for the money. And parts are everywhere. Every Auto parts shop carries spares for these. There no monster but its going to have more power and more drivability then what you currently have(assuming a stock 308) And they are simple to wire up. Really simple.

X 100

well hey for all u guys saying use a efi vn motor thats out the window now as i've learnt my motor is trimatic pattern. so i'm shit out of luck there.
after studying my chasy closly this morning i've noticed alot more rust then i thought was in it so it's realy not worth spending much more cash on. strocker idea is gone i'm just replacing the 308 with another 308 rebuilt. i don't want efi as i don't want all the wireing as this car gets put through hell so i want as little electrics as posible.
thank you for ur opinions.

Use the trimatic bottom end with EFI heads if you must have tri.