392 stroker ford crate engine

[oncebitten]

Feb 3rd My wife and I will be proud owners of a backdraft cobra. I elected to go with the ford 392 stroker ford crate engine. Anybody have any experience with the engine?

[Terry Brown]

Now that they have gone to a forged piston you should be fine. Might want to explore the AFR heads for a big improvement in HP.

Enjoy!!

[ERA-FIA]

Three years and running strong.

[oncebitten]

thanks guys for the reply. I feel better about the decision.

Terry,
Will deffinitely look into the AFR heads for that bit of boost.

Thanks again

[NMattison]

392 is a great choice. they make all kinds of power and if you wish you can do more with it later. good luck Neil. also i was wondering what part of pa., you live in, i used to live in wellsboro. Pa well anyways good luck on your car.

[RACER X #99]

No reason you shouldn't be able to get 100,000 miles of street driving out of that motor.

I had a 351 FMS crate engine that I absolutely beat the crap out of on the track. Constant 7.000 rpm shifts and that engine lasted for 7,000 miles of track use.

As long as you treat that engine properly (not a lot of track time) it will last you.

Good luck

[turnpike boy]

Hey, NMattison, would that be the Wellsboro up by Mansfield, and like 30 or 40 miles south of Watkins Glen?

If so, whattareya doin in Maine? Gets freekin cold up there; worse even than Wellsboro!

[Bill Wells]

going on my 3rd year with the Ford crate 392 stroker. no problems. they NOW come with a warranty which makes it sweeter should there be any problems. make sure the one you buy is under their new warranty announced for 2005 that did not exist in prior years. Bill.

[Mike C.]

Does anyone have the web site to the Ford crate 392 stroker. Would like a price on that motor...........

[Bill Wells]

go to the following site and select 'crate engines' and you will see pricing , and specs :

http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/catalogs.asp

bill

[SPF1061]

and my $.02...
I have a 392 Crate in my SPF. 29,000 VERY spirited miles in a bit over three years, including about 25 drag strip passes and 100+ track laps.
As others have suggested, changing to better flowing heads (AFR, Trick Flow...) and a tweaked
carb will really bring this engine to life (about an extra 75 real rear wheel horspower). I hate to say anything for fear of jinxing myself, but up to this point, my crate has been 100% reliable and provided me with lots of great big smiling miles. With the forged pistons and new warranty, I think the Ford crate stroker represents quite a performance bargain.
Having said that, my next engine will proboably be a Keith Kraft stroker, just so I can have the bragging rights and even more unusable horsepower (BFG). Whether it will be worth the considerable extra expense remains to be seen.

[Goober]

Hal Copple has one in his SPF and I think it has around 70-80,000 miles on it. He uses it for a daily driver and I don't recall him saying he has had any problems. He will probably pick up on this thread and make a comment.
Mark

[SPF1061]

Hey Mark -
Just to set the record straight, in case Hal doesn't see this, I am pretty sure Hal has an Olthoff Racing stroker - not a Ford crate.
Steve

[What'saCobra?]

Someone somewhere mentioned that the new FORD stroker 392 will/might/could incorporate the new "Z" heads, upgraded from the GT40X heads, that are now available on the stroker 347. Anybody know the story?

[Dennis Kelley]

Your can get the Ford Racing 392 crate with a forged crank, pistons, and Z style heads. I saw it on Sean Hylands site. Its over 7K though. I think its rated at 475 hp.

later Dennis

[Hal Copple]

ah hah, just got back from a 180 mile round trip up and back to the Olthoff's, in the sleet and rain and fog. You have to be careful when it is wet and cold, i held it down to about 85 mph on the interstate coming home, just to be safe.

Pete Brock was there, gave about two hours of history as seen thru his eyes, and he has seen about all of it. Fascinating.

Anyway, my odo now reads about 82K on my 392, but it was built by Bob Olthoff, it was not a crate motor, but it is not exotic either, not forged, but Eagle H beam rods, Keith Black Hypereutectic pistons, Twisted Wedge heads. But i do have over a 100 quarter mile runs on it, and at least 1200 or more track laps. Even a top speed run.

Runs fine, compression the same as when i brought it home, no knocks or leaks, although recently needed a new intake manifold gasket, due to some seepage. Same flat tappet cam, inexpensive roller rockers, etc.

It makes about 460 hp or so.

But i think partly it has held together well, because i watch my revs, use quality synthetic oil, and don't get on it until it is fully warmed up, in fact, today in the cold mists of dawn, as usual kept it less than 2K rpm until it was good and warm.

I have heard that some of the initial problems with crate motors is because people just start them up, and after sitting for long periods after being built, the bearings are dry. It would absolutely pre oil the motor.

I need to thaw out a bit.

[What'saCobra?]

Answer to my own question about Z heads for 392.

See: http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...tKeyField=7092

It is a complete description of 475HP stroker 392 with the new heads. Looks great to me. All the right stuff and factory assy to boot.

[Goober]

Sorry about that Hal. I wasn't sure which engine you had. Never the less, pretty good going for a 351W stroked out. I totally agree with you. I don't get on it until it is warmed up and have never changed my 6,000 chip. Heck, it max HP/TQ is around 5800 anyway. If for some chance I do ever gernade it, will probalby go with a KC setup with more forged internals and maybe a Dart 4bolt block.
Got to meet Pete Brock? You lucky boy. I always respected him and his work. Hope you got at least one picture.

Take care
Mark

[Atweis]

Does anyone know when the 392 crate from Ford was originally offered? I ask because, and I may be wrong, but I understand there were some problems with the earlier engines, and internal changes have been made along the way to remedy the issues. The reasom I ask is that I'm looking at a 1999/2000 superformance with a 392 in it, and wondering if this was the time frame for some of the problems that became apparent in these engines. Also, did the block come painted blue from the factory ? Thanks for your help in advance.

[Bill Wells]

not sure here what the initial problems were, or how widespread. most of the engines from anyone can have failures , many times due to driver error or aggressiveness and not always the fault of the engine-see Hal Copple's post, a good recommendation about warming up the engine before high revs and not over revving it.

i have a rev limiter and shift light to ensure excessive rev's are not experienced when the tach needle moves faster than i can watch it go across the gauge.

if the car you are looking at has had miles put on it, chances are it has been sorted out by the owner, or has passed the point of being a concern-other than how the owner drove his car of course, ie, was it 'used' or 'abused'.

as i said earlier, i am very pleased with my 392 stroker and of all the many i have seen, they came painted black by the svo dealer/supplier. i have seen some blue painted crate motors which were painted blue by the owner or builder, for whatever reason. bill