actually, they do call it a stroker because the bigger crankshaft gives it a longer stroke, more cubic inches, making it 383 cubic inches from a 350 block. Chevy made a small block 400 cid motor for a couple years in the 70's, the 400 had what some call a siamese cylinder design, meaning it didn't have water passages between the cylinders, just a couple little "steam hole" which resulted in a lot of them overheating under a continous load, the crankshaft in those motors have a larger main journel, bigger diameter, 1/4 longer rod throws, and weighed a bit more than a 350 crank. So .. there is a lot of other sruff that must be done to make it work, the chankshaft must be turned down to the size of the 350 journels, and some of the counter weights can be cut down, maiing it a little lighter, but still, the 350 block must be ground out some for the 400 crankshaft to fit, so it will rotate with-out hitting the bottom of the cylinders, the side's of the case, and the cam must be ground differently so the rod bolts don't hit it. Because there is 383 cubic inches, if you are going to get the performance it's built for, it needs more carb than the 350, like from a 600cfm carb, to a 650 cfm, and because it's got to breath freely, it needs bigger valves, and a free flowing exhaust system, and an ignition systen capable of burning more gas. The main purpose I'm build the stroker is because it has over 100 more pounds of torque, thats what I need for my boat, the one I'm building should have at least 500 pounds of torque, thats what puts the boats up on plane faster, the 350 has 350 /370 pounds of torque.
