buy one build?

[Dman250]

Hello guys,
Hey im interested in a building a stroker for my 97 rubicon but this stroker thing seems like a long process that i really dont have the time and patience to do. I have noticed alot of websites that offer prebuild stroker engines for descent prices that i could install in just a few days. So why build one when i could just buy one build? Any what i really want to know is what pre built strokers you guys have had the best experience with. plz reply with your reviews of the stroker and why you think its the best. Thanks for you help.

-seth

[rradford9]

Wait, you got a '97 rubicon?

Titan and Golen are two big names for jeep stroker longblocks. Most people (that have the capability) build their own because its a little less expensive and you can customize your build to suit your specific needs. The longblocks are good if you can't/don't want do to a rebuild and just want to bolt in your stroker.

http://www.golenengineservice.com/html/jeep.html

http://www.titanengines.com/index.php?a ... roductId=8

[SilverXJ]

Titan is a big name.. in making a mess.

[tomcat]

get yourself a julkyard longblock, do your build, and when it is all done, you can swap your intake/accessories during your swap weekend

only adds about $100 to your build cost, and lets you do a quick swap.

you could do a turn-key engine, but i like knowing what is going on in my engine. my build is teaching me a lot

[Dman250]

yeah i wish i could build my own, by like a said i just dont have the time and resources where i live to build a stroker it would take me months longer than what i like. I think i will buy something i know will work, like maybe a chevy small block v8 or maybe a hemi.

[1bolt]

yeah i wish i could build my own, by like a said i just dont have the time and resources where i live to build a stroker it would take me months longer than what i like. I think i will buy something i know will work, like maybe a chevy small block v8 or maybe a hemi.

Yeah well good luck with that, if you have money to throw at it, there are plenty of custom shops that will retrofit a SBC or Hemi in, probably only cost yah 10 or 20,000 dollars by the time you get done paying for labor and the entire drivetrain. Depending of course on how used your SBC is or how inexpensive a Hemi you're willing to use... You could double that figure if you want A well used 3rd gen Hemi will run you $2500 bucks with nothing else because Mopar heads have stupid money and every one of them who owns a plain Dart, Charger or Barracuda wants to put a new Hemi in it. If you don't have the space or resources to build a stroker, then there's no way you're going to be able to do the cheap junk yard SBC type swap.

The concensus here is that the known engine remanufacturers that offer strokers, are very hit and Miss for build quality and backing their warranty. As in they don't... they will run you around (Ask SilverXJ) until you're fed up with trying to get them to back it up, and you start over from scratch.

HESCO is who I would go to for a properly built and backed up Stroker, they are not inexpensive but you've got money. And sometimes you get what you pay for in this regard at least. I've never been a big HESCO supporter but they do back their products and they do make good ones. I'd bet they can put one in for you, assuming you provide a 4.0 wired Jeep, and an engine core, for under 6 or 7 grand.

[Dman250]

Is a $10-20,000 build really that bad? I mean for a jeep i payed 5,000 for. So 25,000 at the most, and what new car can you buy with a chevy small block putting out 430hp and 425 foot lbs of torque for 25,000? None i can think off. I dont think the cost will be that high as labor will be kept down to a minimum, machine shops and such for the whole overbore thing is out of question but bolting in a new drive train can be done in my brothers garage.

I went out looking for a new car and ended up with a old jeep so the money i didnt spend i dont mind putting into a jeep with more power than any new car for the cost.

[SilverXJ]

You are worried about time and resources and you are looking into a V8 swap? Err.. ok.

As 1bolt said, if you have the money and want an easy swap go Hesco. While they are quite proud of their products (read $$$$) they do make excellent engines.

[1bolt]

Is a $10-20,000 build really that bad? I mean for a jeep i payed 5,000 for. So 25,000 at the most, and what new car can you buy with a chevy small block putting out 430hp and 425 foot lbs of torque for 25,000? None i can think off. I dont think the cost will be that high as labor will be kept down to a minimum, machine shops and such for the whole overbore thing is out of question but bolting in a new drive train can be done in my brothers garage.

I went out looking for a new car and ended up with a old jeep so the money i didnt spend i dont mind putting into a jeep with more power than any new car for the cost.

That's all well and good in theory. but Now you're talking about a 430hp small block? Tack 7 grand on for a crate engine. Now you need a transmission, a transfer case and a rear end that will live with 425 lb-ft... add that up. Then you need an Engine Harness, an engine management system, a custom drive shaft... Unless you want to not pass Smog/visual inspection in which case you can simplify things by using a Carb (which are a damn poor choice for a Jeep IMO).

You can do the labor yourself, if you have a friends who know what they're doing and are good at it you might even get it done in a couple weekends of straight thrashing... If your friends will spend 4 or 5 solid days doing that for free you have great friends... or friends without family's or friends that are easily taken advantage of Of course all that assumes you aren't leaving your friends sitting around while you run from parts store to junk yard to parts store picking up the eleventymillion different things you never realized you should have ordered before hand.

Not that I'm trying to discourage you, swaping something like that in is not all that hard, just depends on your expectations... realistically though, if you don't have time and resources to build a Stroker, you definitely don't have them to do a major engine swap involving an entire drive train and electrical.

[Dman250]

Thanks anyway, even though this thread went the wrong way as i simply asked opinions and reviews on pre-built engines. Somehow the thread went the wrong way and you guys started telling what i had time and the resources to do. I am familiar with engine swaps and know what it takes, also the time and work it takes to build a stroker. I know the area i live in and the resources i have to do what i need to do. I know what i can and cant do, you dont. I am not going to leave any more replies unless its about the original topic so please do the same.

[dwg86]

From the nightmares I have heard about Titan, I would stay away from them. The only company I have heard any good about in the Jeep Stroker world is Hesco.

[1bolt]

Thanks anyway, even though this thread went the wrong way as i simply asked opinions and reviews on pre-built engines. Somehow the thread went the wrong way and you guys started telling what i had time and the resources to do. I am familiar with engine swaps and know what it takes, also the time and work it takes to build a stroker. I know the area i live in and the resources i have to do what i need to do. I know what i can and cant do, you dont. I am not going to leave any more replies unless its about the original topic so please do the same.

Hell man you mentioned not having the time and patience to build something, and mentioned 400hp small blocks and appearently $20,000 dollars doesn't make you flinch, so I'm not sure why you think anyone is "telling you" what you have the time and resources to do... Seem like to me that you did a pretty good job of telling us...

But hey I'm sorry if you feel we've dragged this thread off course. Looks to me like we've touched on HESCO Titan and Golen, not too many other options out there. Anyway you're saying you need to buy an engine because you can't build one for reasons that you made pretty clear, nothing wrong with that

Nothing personal but you might get more responses if you change the title to "Buy or Build" which I'm guessing is what you intended to make it? If you want I can change that for you, not sure if it's too late to edit it yourself or not.

[dwg86]

I just saw this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Str ... ccessories.

I don't know anything about this company...just passing some info.

[mendelmax]

I also vote for HESCO, they make pricey, but great products. I've bought few simple things from them, and the quality was awesome, so I guess it should be the same with the stroker.

I also think, that stroker is better than any engine swap, since you leave everything as is, without engine bay rearrangements, electrical spaghetti (which is particularly dangerous for offroading jeeps, since you often have contact with water), and you still have most factory parts in, so if anything brakes down somewhere far from home, getting it fixed isn't a problem (except from the engine itself of course).