SHP big block connecting rod durability

[Phil P.]

Re: Scat rods or Eagle

duke,i agree with the heavier rod wieght but when you check piston wheights of factory stock and current replacements i think it will balance out---also richard---when any crank is nitride/heat treated it is normal to have a .003 plus bend or bent crank---no the crank straightener does'nt use a big hammer to correct the warp or bend in the crank---a medium ball peen with a medium chisel and unbeliveable medium "hit" is all that is needed to correct a crank---saw this first hand at castill (sp) crank service

[Richard F.]

Re: Scat rods or Eagle

Phil, Thanks for correcting me as to the size of hammer my guy used to straighten my crankshaft 20 years ago.

[Richard F.]

Re: Scat rods or Eagle

Mark, I'm curious if you are saying that you have a March 5439 4-bolt block that will take 7/16 rods on a 427 crank with no grinding. I'm wondering if I was just unlucky, because I assembled my motor myself, and there was no way those rods would hit without some help.

[Richard F.]

Re: Scat rods or Eagle

Said "hit"; meant "fit". Myron, thanks for keeping me coherent. Rick

[Joe L.]

Re: SHP big block connecting rod durability

Duke-----

Properly re-sized, magnafluxed, and with ARP Wave Lok rod bolts installed, the original rods will be just fine for a street application. No question about that, at all, in my mind. 3/8" rod bolts were used on a lot of other big blocks. Relatively few ever originally were equipped with 7/16" rod bolts.

I don't think you'd get a set of Crower Sportsman rods for a big block for $500---more like $750-800 a set. Big block rods are significantly more expensive than small block which is what I think you're thinking about.

As others have mentioned, you can get Eagle or Scat rods for a lot less---comparable to the cost of rebuilding a set of original rods. However, I believe that most, if not all, of the Scat, Eagle, and other low-cost rods are "imported". That does not make them bad, though; it just makes them much lower cost. I've never heard of any problems with these rods. Would I use them? Probably not. But, that decision really doesn't have a lot to do with anything rational.