Dodge Dakota 408 Stroker V8 Engine

After the main bearing caps were unbolted, the old bearings were removed and 0.003 was surfaced in preparation for being reinstalled so the block could be aligned.

Main cap bolts were replaced with studs, and the caps were reinstalled. The block was fastened into the align bore honing machine and the crankshaft journals were honed to re-establish a parallel crankshaft center line.

The block has been placed into the block-decking machine, where it will be decked to true it up and totally cleaned by boring 0.010 over.

After the block has been aligned and decked so that they are perfectly set at 90 degrees, the block can now be bored. This block will be bored out 0.030 to make it a 4.030.

The bores were honed to finish off the boring portion of the machine work. A heavy honing plate was used for this part of the job. The plate was torqued down to proper head torque specs.

Because this block will be fitted with a stroker crankshaft, the block must be ground out. This will provide clearance for the crank at the lower area of the cylinders, which is necessary because of the longer stroke.

When all machine work had been completed and the block had been totally disassembled, which includes removing all the block and freeze plugs, the distributor bushing, the cam bearing, and so on, the block was put into a steam pressure washing cabinet for total cleaning. After it was removed, the small bores and passages needed to be scrubbed with small bottle brushes. The block was washed off with detergent soap and warm water and blown dry using an air hose.

They reassembled the engine, and all the freeze plugs, block plugs, and components that were removed before the block was washed were replaced with new parts.

The cam bearings could now be installed. They worked carefully to make sure the bearings went in properly.

A&B: A new distributor bushing was installed, and it was reamed to the proper size for the distributor shaft.

Here are the Mopar 4.0 stroker crankshaft and the Mopar steel-ring SFI-approved vibration damper. A custom set of Ross Racing Pistons' lightweight pistons made to The Fastman's specification were used in the supercharger-equipped motor, and Eagle Specialty Products' H-Beam connecting rods were also added, along with a Child and Albert ring set.

The Eagle Specialty Products rods are the standard high-performance rods, which are rated between 700 and 750 hp, and are the same length (6.123 inches) as the stock rods. They are strong connecting rods and are available right off the shelf. They are fitted with 7/16-inch rod bolts that thread into the rod body, rather than being pressed into the rod with the cap held on with a nut.

The crankshaft balancing process was started. Each rod was assembled and placed in a fixture that weighs the big end.

Each rod must weigh the same. To make sure each rod weighed the same, a small amount of material was ground off the bottom of the cap.