Jeep Strokers

Im posting in stroker basics because Im a newbie at this concept and its sort of an opportunity to get my feet wet here on the forum.

I have been reading a lot into this type set up and still have so many questions. Most of them I am sure I can clear up with a machinist, but there are those lingering issues I am just not comfortable with yet. So with that I would like to extend some of my most basic questions and concerns and see if you guys can help me figure them out with your experience both god and bad.

1) I see strokers referred to as 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.9.........What determines the liter of a stroker (overbore, stroke or both)?

2) Can strokers be built to be reliable? I m reading many posts here and other forums that point to recipes that are border line pinging and 92 octane is a must. Im not concerned about running 92 octane, I figure the hp gains for spending $4 dollars more per fill up are worth it. Im not planning to drag race my wrangler or compete in off road races. My engine needs to be reliable since its my daily driver and I will be building my first stroker on an engine from a junkyard donor before making the swap. So whats the best recipe for building a reliable daily driven stroker with good 0 to 60 pick up and mildly torquey off-road performance?

One more thing to add. Im not in a huge hurry to build my first stroker, but I am in need of a new project. I have never rebuilt an engine, so this will be a great opportunity for me to learn something hands on. I just don't want it to be an expensive learning experience (meaning I dont want to dump 3k into an engine that will have to be rebuilt because it was set up wrong or an important step was missing.

So, help a new guy out and go easy on me. Ill ask more questions as this thread develops, but for now I would like to get my mind wrapped around what I want to build and then I can dive deeper into the details. Of course I will try to read as much as I can before posting.

Click on this link it may help you figure out how the Litre size works.

http://www.jeepstrokers.com/calculator


I'm wishing my stroker ran on 87 instead of 93. I'm finding that in my area some stations are doing away with 89 and 93 to make room for E85.

Ok, here goes. Keep in mind that the AMC/Jeep 4.0L block has 6 cylinders with a standard bore size of 3.875", and the AMC 258 crank has a standard stroke of 3.895".

Standard 3.875" bore + 3.895" stroke = 4516cc or 4.5L
+0.030" overbore + 3.895" stroke = 4587cc or 4.6L
+0.060" overbore + 3.895" stroke = 4657cc or 4.7L
+0.060" overbore + 3.980" stroke (custom billet crank) = 4759cc or 4.8L
+0.060" overbore + 4.060" stroke (custom billet crank) = 4855cc or 4.9L
4.000" bore (sleeved block) + 4.060" stroke (custom billet crank) = 5016cc or 5.0L

So what's the best recipe for building a reliable daily driven stroker with good 0 to 60 pick up and mildly torquey off-road performance?

There's no single best recipe but I can tell you that the 4.6L "poor man's" stroker that I have in my Jeep does all of those things, yields very good gas mileage, runs on 87 octane, has a glass smooth idle with 20" of vacuum, and is as sweet as honey. Still goes like a raped ape after 57k miles. Other stroker recipes might make more power but none can match the "poor man's" bang-per-buck ratio.

Thanks for the link to the calculator. For some reason I had trouble finding it before.

Also, Cheromaniac, I have been looking at your stroker build link from junker to stroker and have been digesting it little by little. There is just so much info to take in at once.