While it is perfectly acceptable to weld and offset grind a crank to gain a little extra stroke, it is/was mainly done because there was not an inexpensive alternative for a good deal of the motors that people choose to build. Anything relatively modern and Chevrolet in particular have plenty of options for cranks as to where I believe the amount of effort and risk is not worth it, especially when you can most likely get a stronger crank for less money than you would spend reworking a stock piece. Also, it was usually common for folks to work towards a ¼” stroke or so, and not quite a large jump all the way to a 4” stroke. I’m going to side with all the other guy’s and say, why not just buy one of the readily available cranks out there?

 

To go from 3.622 to 4 is alot of welding. It could be done but in the end its alot of work to build it up that much and re grind it. Also its still a cast crank in the end. By welding it that much you may also comprmise it structral integrety... something to consider...

Best of luck with your projects!

 

Well here I go, eating my words again. I didn't think it was even possible to weld a cast steel crank. I know it's not like welding cast iron, it just seems like the area near the weld would be crack prone.
I have to agree with 1FastBrick. My analogy of the day is that it is kind of like re-using guitar strings.

 

+1 and +1, I'm with these guys