Jeep Strokers

How much can the snout on the 232 be shortened so the 4.0L HB can fit without a spacer?
Does it matter if shortening it ends up cutting into the woodruff key slot?

It's a '72-'79 crank and I think the 232 snout is the same length as the 258 crank.

You'd need to shorten the snout by 10mm but what do you have against using a spacer? If you have an old harmonic balancer, just cut a 10mm thick slice off the rear flange using a lathe and voila, you have your spacer and it'll have a keyway!

As Dino said absolutely no downside or problem parting off the end of a sacrificial used vibration dampener or shortening the crack snout, or plan B $45.00 will get you the spacer with a pair of keys.

I've already tried a Hesco spacer and the crank bolt contacts the radiator fan blades, so I have to shorten it somehow to tuck everything closer to the HB. In this image if I remove 10mm to get it behind the face of the HB to eliminate the spacer, it will expose the end of the woodruff key slot. Does and open ended woodruff slot create any issues? That is my primary concern.