Jeep Strokers

ok so i'm finally getting things going with this build and ups has been busy dropping stuff off

i've had this stuff for awhile



and had this polished up



this stuff came in recently



what's not shown is my lunati 63501 cam that's at the machinist being checked for straightness incase it got dropped in shipping

so at this point i have:
kb944 .020 pistons
complete gasket set from victor reinz hopefully with the .044 headgasket
lunati 63501 cam and lifters
lunati 74814 oviate wire beehive valve springs(these things are tiny and much cheaper then the crowers)
victor reinz head bolts
arp rod bolts
258 crank turned .020/.030 with bearings
99+ intake
several tb's to choose from
0630 head(in the process of porting and polishing)
4.0 rods(in the process of polishing before resizing)
aem wideband o2 sensor
hemi retainers

still need:
timing chain
fuel management
i know i'm forgetting something just can't think of what

so i got my cam back from the machinist and it was perfect, spun .000 all the way down. also got my springs checked and they turned out to be 110# closed and 230# at .507 and 220# at .484. not too bad for $114 for a set of 12 so this looks like to be a cheaper alternative to the crower springs. only bad thing is the hemi retainers have a tiny bit of play in the springs but my machinist said they'll be fine

lunati springs on the left and stockers on the right for comparison



and here's my cam

Did you use stock retainers or aftermarket?
Do you know what machine work had to be done, if any, to get the springs to work on the 4.0 head?

hemi retainers and so far nothing has been done to the head other then cutting the spring locators for the smaller profile. once i finish the port and polish on the head it'll be put together. my machinist had a junk head laying around that he used to check the pressures on and he didn't cut the seats at all

learned a lesson today. do not use carbide bits for polishing rods. i destroyed a rod when the bit got away from me. time to order some stones. also bent 1 of my mandrels when i started cleaning up the casting flash on my head. i need to order some longer mandrels so i can reach into the head easier

so i've been thinking about trying to find a set of eagle rods instead of reworking my rods. i have 2 sets of 4.0l rods so trashing the 1 doesn't really bother me but if i'm gonna put $80 into resizing with another $90 i spent on the arp bolts then get the block decked i'm almost to the price of a set of forged rods only problem is 505 seems to be the only people with them readily available if they even have them. not really looking forward to dealing with them but i guess i'll give them a call tomorrow.

next problem is will 6.150 rods put my 944's out of the hole?

The 6.150's would theoretically push the piston out the hole .002-.003" inch(assuming the block hasn't been decked), which is fine. What is not fine is that the KBs are not full floating pistons, so you can't use the eagle rods(really a shame since it would be a perfect combo). I'm sitting on a set of 6150's.

what's the wrist pin size? can't you put a bushing in there to tighten them up?

I'm not the one to answer that question--I had your same question a couple years ago when I was building mine.

what's the sizes of the ends on yours? i'll ask my machinist if he knows anything that can be done

I'm at work, my rods at home, and my dial caliper at my brother's. There should be a data sheet in the box though, so maybe I can tell ya after the rock show. I think that full floating pistons use circlips to hold the pins in the pistons and the 944s aren't forged to accept circlips.

true but if they can be bored out to accept a bushing to have the pistons pressed on it would work or maybe my logic's flawed as usual

come to think of it that would prolly be a waste of money. 505's website says their forged rods will accept stock and aftermarket pistons. i guess i'll have ot call and find out and see if they actually have them

505 has a few different rods, not just the usual Eagle. I suppose you could either open up either bore and/or use a bronze bushing. Then you would have to have the pistons modified for a circlip.

talked to 505 and they have a set of 4340 6.125" rods for $299. supposedly they're getting in 11 sets next week and selling them like hotcakes and they fit the kb944's that i have. so if i go this route i'll still need to deck the block. hmm decisions decisions decisions