Custom Stroker Crank

[Plechtan]

I was talking to A company that makes standard and Custom cranks. They would be willing to make a custom Steel crank for the Jeep, but the sell price would probably be around $1,000.00 The minimum order would be between 50-100 pieces. Smaller quanity = higher price. So at 50 pieces the price might be in the 1,100.00- 1,200.00 price range.

The basic specs i gave them was a cast steel crank, 12 counterweights, 4" stroke, 2" or 2.1" rod journals. The rod journals would be ground for the width of a Chevy V8 rod.

I think the price is reasonable. To rework a Jeep crank to get a 4" stroke is tough, then you need special rods. So if you spent $600 or $700 to regrind a stock 258 crank, than $1,300.00 on custom rods your total cost would be $2K. a custom steel crank, with that would take chevy rods might cost $ 1,100 and the rods would cost in the $200- $300 range. So for $1,300-$1,400 you could have a better crank and rods you could buy off the shelf. It may make more sense to change the stroke a little to use a stock piston and rod.

So here is what it comes down to, If you want custom Cranks, you have to come up with about $50,000 to $100,000 to fund the first order. And would you really want to commit to that kind of expense without a commitment for the sale of at least half of them?

Would you spend $1,000 dollars or more on a stroker crank? I would like to see how much interest there is out there.

[dwg86]

For what I am going to use my engine for,DD and occational off road, the stock crank and rods work.

[Cheromaniac]

Would you spend $1,000 dollars or more on a stroker crank?

Definitely not. I built the whole engine for not much more than that.

[Plechtan]

I know you can scroung parts and do a low buck stroker. In some areas of the country the salt on the roads has taken its toll and the junkyards just do not have many ( if any) 258 vehicles in them. So if you then go to a place like Ebay, the typical price for a refurbished 258 crank is around $300.00 plus shipping. So if you wanted to make a 4" stroke, you would still have to add additional grinding costs to this. I think the price of the cranks will continue to go up as the supply grows smaller.

Hesco sells its stroker kit for about $2600. So 1k for a crank, 200 for chevy rods, 700 for pistons, add in cam lifters ect, still not a bad value compared to some of the kits out there.

I know you can build a stroker for $1,000.00 But most people choose to spend more than that. I would think 1500-2K is more typical. And people may be willing to spend a little more than that if they are getting better parts.

Hesco sells its Aluminum heads for $2,000.00 You can probably get a HO head in a junkyard for $25.00. Is it fair to compare the two? Over 200 aluminum heads have been sold. So i think ther is a market for the crank. The responces so far do not seem to prove me right.

[yuppiexj]

Would you spend $1,000 dollars or more on a stroker crank?

I would pay $1000 for a 4" stroke crank that uses ubiquitous SBC rods.

[dwg86]

We need another survey with a yes or no vote button. Maybe a moderator knows how to set that up?

[seanyb505]

If I was going for a land speed record or some other racing event yes, I would spend the money. Since Im trying to graduate college, no. But then again even if I was at a different stage in life I dont know if I would spend that much on a custom crank; I think the ones laying around now suit me just fine since I dont really desire to go over 4.7 at this point.

[gradon]

I could see spending a g on a custom knife-edged forged crank to use with your $500 forged rods and $500 forged pistons and then boost the heck out of it($2-3K turbo or sc kit). Add the $1k roller cam, the $500 ltw flywheel. . .would be a sweet setup. I'm glad to see you've accepted the reality of the $10K-15K that this little landspeed record's gonna cost to do it right(and have a chance).

[Plechtan]

I doubt if you will ever be able to get a knife edge forged crank for a Jeep I6 for $1,000. A forged chevy crank is in the 600-700 range made in volume in China. The V8 crank has 5 mains and 4 rod journals and is much shorter and lighter than the jeep crank. The Jeep crank has 7 mains and 6 rod journals. So you have 10 surfaces to grind on the V8 (counting the snout) and 14 on the Jeep. So it is about 50% more more work on the I6 crank vs the V8.

I did get a price of $2,750.00 for a billet crank, 1 off. But since the cast iron cranks have not had a problem, the cast steel crank would probably be just fine even in performance applications.

[1bolt]

I also don't have money for it or the application for it... frankly you;re looking at around 400 horses... you don't need a steel crank for that.

[Plechtan]

Anybody know how Flandlander racing gets more than a 4" stroke out of their crank on their stroker kit? Is this a reground Jeep crank or a custom casting?

[SIXPAK]

Don't know this for fact but I seriously doubt that it is anything but the normal offset ground factory crank.

[yuppiexj]

Anybody know how Flandlander racing gets more than a 4" stroke out of their crank on their stroker kit? Is this a reground Jeep crank or a custom casting?

I've heard that they offset grind an OEM crank and use Honda rods.

I have only anecdotal sources.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/str ... sage/32324

[BADASYJ]

I am interested for sure. But the 12 counterweights would make the crank pretty heavy. Why not go for 4 counterweights and have a lighter crank you could spin up faster?
The journal width is a good idea it would definitly bring down the cost of a big build as well as have the rods readily available from any speedshop.
The bad thing is that it would only be practical for those who seriously race their jeeps, and there isn't many of us. I would definitly post this on other jeep forums so you can get as many interested as possible.

[Plechtan]

I thought th 12 cw would be better fr performance applications because it is less prone to harmonics at higher RPM. If there was enough demand i guess we could make both. Actually 3 crank versions were made, 4cw, 8 cw, and 12 cw. they never made a 258 crank with 8 cw, only 232 and 4.0