408 Stroker Motor Build

[bnickel]

Don't get me wrong, I am not against international commerce, far from it. We have to make our product in China because no american mfgs will do it anymore. But one of the biggest problems in dealing with China is trademark infringement. They just blatently rip designs off and get paid for it. In industries like DVDs or golf equipment, it is flat out brutal.

I was talking to the owner of Scorpion Rocker Arms at PRI last year, and he had a prototype Gen III Chevy rocker on his display. Well someone took the prototype off the display, and since the design was unproven, he decided against manufacturing it. Well 6 months later, chinese knock-offs started appearing on ebay with his logo on it. And then HE starts getting calls when they fail and ruin people's motors.

That is the problem in doing business with China on hard parts. Spend any time in this industry and you will see it.

Do you think anyone in China will develop new aftermarket cylinder heads for oddball motors like Ford FEs, Olds, AMCs and Buicks like Edelbrock does? Absolutely not. But they will be right there to rip off the R&D once Vic Edelbrock sends the stuff to market.

If Vic decides to do his R&D here and move production to China, I will be a little disappointed, but I will still buy his products, no problem. I will still send the check to Vic.

But I will not support some chinese trademark ripoff artists, and if everybody else does, there will be no more Vic Edelbrocks to design and create these new products.

Think about that when buying from thieves. Do you want Edelbrock still around when your son gets involved in the hobby? Is the $100 you saved really worth it?

i totally 100% agree. i don't have a problem with someone copying something for their own use (very unlikely with an intake) as long as the part is not being reproduced for sale. sometimes the price is just way too high, for instance the old windsor fox AOD crossmember, people have been building crossmembers like that for decades and they wanted 150 bucks for a couple of pieces of rectangular tubing welded together. i'm not likely to buy something like that, their isn't a whole lot of engineering in it and the raw materials probably cost less than 5 bucks. i would make my own before i payed those kind of prices but for the convenience of buying a pre-made part it might be worth it to someone else.

 

[Vinyl66]

With the Vic Jr. now installed I have now purchased 5 Edelbrock intakes to 1 Pro Products intake. I have had his air cleaners, valve covers, carburetors, etc. I have given Vic tons of business and will continue to do so. His products are great. The mistake I made with this engine build was not to go to the Vic Jr in the first place because it made more power.
I am actually surprised that Edelbrock doesn't have a factory in China. Most other forms of manufacturing have been in China for years. My place of employment included.

 

[Max Power]

I believe they are all made in Tennesee. They have a big "Made in USA" tag on a lot of their products.

 

[bnickel]

the e'brock foundry is in sunny southern california, in fact the entire operation is in the same location

 

[70vert]

Edelbrock in CA? That makes me feel even better - I plan to go with "Bad Ass Racing Engines" in Sonoma b/c they are a recommended builder by Mass-Flo EFI, and they have a pretty good 408 stroker package with Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake and heads good for 450-525hp.

The thing I'm wondering is, is there anything limiting by going with their "port matched Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake and heads"? Am I missing out by not going with an AFR 205 and should I insist on that head being substituted, or is it a good match?

 

[jasonn]

The thing I'm wondering is, is there anything limiting by going with their "port matched Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake and heads"? Am I missing out by not going with an AFR 205 and should I insist on that head being substituted, or is it a good match?

When it comes to choosing parts, it all depends on things like hood clearance and budget, etc. Yes, the afr 205's will flow a LITTLE better and therefore make a few more horse's but not much. The AFR's cost at least $400 dollars more than the jr's. With that money, (if you have it) I would invest in a custom cam. You will pick up the power and then some. Also a custom carb from somebody like pro systems, or bigs. The vic jr's work awesome on a 408. They are what I have on mine. Real mild motor. 10-1 compression. (All I have is 89 oct in my small town). Small custom hyd roller. Like 234 ane 240 @ .050. perf rpm intake with a proformed 750, and 1 5/8 small headers. Made 519hp and
532 ft/lbs torque. So far has run a best of 11.39@119. This is a full interior street car. Car has much more in it with a vic jr intake, 950hp holley, and bigger headers, but hood clearance and $$ seem to always prevail.

 

[brin0357]

I dont know why everyone is so caught up on those advertised RPM numbers. Hell that motor wont hold up to 7000 rpm anyways at 408 inches. 6000 is going to be about it unless you went to a splayed main windsor block with a better crank and rods.

 

[69gmachine]

I resurrected this thread because I finally got around to finish tearing down my engine and found a big surprise! When I pulled the driver side head, the #5 piston was shiney and new looking. It had obviously never fired. Now this is the first engine I paid someone to put together as it has tons of money in the parts and machine work. The shop that did most of the machine work shut down as the owner decided to go racing full time for a while. He was very proffesional and I was very happy with his work, even though he charged a premium. The guy that I paid to assemble everything has since gone out of business. Skipped town is more like it. Anyway, now that I know I was only running on 7 cylinders (and still had unbeleivable power), my assessment of the aluminum flywheel and it's effect on low speed driveability was flawed. I'm sure that the idle quality and off-idle performance will be greatly improved when I get it back together. I'll start a new post with my engine woes.