I want to stay NA and use my car as a daily driver. I want to rebuild or build an engine. What are the advantages of building a 331 stroker over lets say the 306? How much difference is there in HP/torque & $$$ between the two? Can I use an aluminum flywheel with the 331 for my application?
If its a daily driver, stay with the stock flywheel IMO. Adding cubes is ALWAYS a good thing. A good rule of thumb is 1 HP per cubic inch. Sure you can exceed that, but it s good rule of thumb so you don't expect too much. The 331 will give you more low and mid range torque which is IDEAL for the street too. I'd go 331 if I were you and planning a rebuild. I have to rebuild my stang, but I will NOT be stroking it, at least I don't think so. The reason being a stroker will take my maximized combo and make it restrictive, plus I want to see how fast a 302/306 can go in one of our cars, namely my vert. If I didn't already have my cam, heads, and intake I'd do a 347 and be done with it though.
I would do the 331 stroker. More cubes is always nice plus all of the benefits mentioned above.
I would not use the stock balancer or flywheel (50 oz) though. I would get a new balancer (28 oz) and flywheel (28 oz). Stroker kits have to be balanced and most guys go to 28 oz.
another question, once the swap to the 331 and everything is set up. Being its a daily (sleeper) driver. How reliable is this setup? Will I have to constantly tinker with it?
A 331 can be just as if not more reliable then a 302. I mean if you put name brand internals in i would bet it would out last any 302... I went all summer on my N/A 331 with absolutly no problems, (maybe a few idling problems here and there but with the cam i used it is to be expected)
Once you put it together go and have it tuned... After that you shouldn't have to touch a thing on it again, except when you decide to go blown... Once you get a glimpse of power you always want more (unless it scares you).
Anyways i would suggest either track heat, systemax, or rpm intake... Well that sorta depends on the heads you use too.
Also a good aluminum flywheel is not a bad idea at all... They say that they wear out/warp fast but I have heard a few people say that it depends on the brand and type... That would help out with rotating weight allowing more power to transfer to the tires...
If you go for the 331, make sure you combo is matched up for it...
I just went from a 302 with 116k on to a new 331 and kept the same h/c/i combo. The cam (L51014) is definately too mild and I'll be changing it soon. Here are the numbers it made on my 94 AODE vert:
263rwhp
331rwtq
It's pretty fun to drive with that much torque although the hp is on the low side.
I think that was the comp cam I was looking at but didnt go with cause of the 1:7 rockers and stock flat tops,a bit more cam would help h/p, those #s are repectable though you definetly could squeeze more out of it I would think, Im looking for the most torque in the 2500 to 5500 rpm range so I'll get rid of the typhoon intake for possibly an extrude honed cobra. By the way what heads are you running?