Jeep Strokers

Hey all, been doing allot of reading/searching here and think I've decided to build my first stroker but I'm having trouble decided what build to go with.

First off this will be going in my 2000 xj as a DD for my wife and our road trip rig so it will see lots of highway. The donor engine is out of a 97 xj and was told it "needed a head gasket". Once it's torn down the head and block will be magnafluxed and if all is well I'll start ordering parts. Right now I'm debating between the 4.6L "poor man's" stroker and the 4.2L Milder mini-stroker. I won't mind running mid or premium fuel if needed I'm just trying to get the most bang for my buck on this build. I would love to do the 4.6L low-buck stroker but the Keith Black pistons would really push up the build costs and I'm not sure I could swing that right now. I'm having the performance to cost debate, with the 4.6 I can use the stock cam so I save a bit there but need new rods. The 4.2 I can reuse my rods but need a new cam and have to bore +0.060 (plus get the pistons dished) vs the +0.020. Looking at the CR on each I figured the 4.6 would need to be ran on 89oct or higher but the 4.2 might be able to handle 87. So I guess my question is can anyone running either of these setups give me some real world advantages/disadvantages to either. I see the stated performance numbers are pretty close hence the debate.

Of course maybe I should just put on my big boy pants and spring for the $500 pistons and be done with it

Thanks all and sorry if it's a stupid question

I have the traditional poor man's stroker and I run it on 91 octane for most of the year but that's only 'cause I live in an oven. The easiest route for you is to build the modified 4.6L "poor man's" stroker. The only non-stock parts you'd need are the 258 crank, IC944 pistons, and 15% oversize injectors. See my stroker recipes for more details.
The biggest advantage of the 4.6 over the 4.2 is the extra torque especially at lower rpm, which makes highway cruising more relaxing and overtaking easier. Your cruise mpg will also improve 'cause you'll be using less throttle.

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I'll go for the 4.6 just need to start getting my parts list together. Since I'll be going with the 944 pistons I'm going to see how much more it would cost me to go with the CompCam and go for the "Low Buck 4.6" Thanks again