Looking for lightweight 6-pack rod & piston recommendations.....>>>>>

[cudaken]

 Hum, lighter rod's in the motor, hum Seems some one had the right idea and had it done wrong. I won't go into great details but PM doechsleor call Dennis at Reed Cam 770-474-6664. (there engine bulider)

Dennis and I where talking the other day on the phone. He told me what killed the ill fated 440 and make's more sense than D&D not tighten down a rod bolt! Sorry Neil, Ron, Runner and other folks. What he told me on the phone with out seeing the 440 in person is what I was told by Jack at J&J. As soon as I started to talk about the rod's he said "they are junk, Mopar made tuff but sloppily made rod's"!

If I ever bulid a full tilt boogie Mopar, stock rods will be on E-bay or in the trash.

                               Cuda Ken

[firefighter3931]

If I ever bulid a full tilt boogie Mopar, stock rods will be on E-bay or in the trash.

                               Cuda Ken

Actually, there's nothing wrong with stock rods as long as they're properly prepped. Guys ran them for years with heavy trw slugs and spun those combos to 7k routinely. We're lucky nowadays with all the aftermarket offerings and options available to us. It's just a few $ more to purchase a nice set of brand new h-beam forgings so most will go that way.

So, basicly it becomes a cost effective option to go with brand new forgings rather than rework old castings. I will agree with Ken that it's not worth it to rework stock rods. The 535 (LY) is still a pretty tough rod .....how tough ? There's a guy on another board who intentionally blew up an engine to see what the failure issues would be. The engine grenaded with a 400hp nitrous hit while making an 8second pass....it had survived everything up to that point and had hundreds of nitrous passes on that engine. I have no reservations using them in my on motor....but if i had to do it again, a brand new H-beam would be used .....it makes sense from a cost standpoint.

Ron

Ps. Johnny...you've got mail

[Johnny SixPack]

Ron, thanks for the new options!

I like the idea of a nice mild stroker.

Nothing too radical, but since the block isn't stock, and the idiot before me screwed up the crank, might as well go stroker, eh?

So h-beam rods and Ross pistons?

With the block being .030 over, what would the displacement be with stroker crank (3.90) and stock heads, Ron?

Will the change in engine purpose necessitate changing the converter choice?

How about a shift kit?

Now would also be the time to decide on any trans. mods since mine is being gutted to put into a "70 coded case (currently have a "68 coded case).

I owe yah big, Ron!

[firefighter3931]

With the block being .030 over, what would the displacement be with stroker crank (3.90) and stock heads, Ron?

Will the change in engine purpose necessitate changing the converter choice?

How about a shift kit?

Now would also be the time to decide on any trans. mods since mine is being gutted to put into a "70 coded case (currently have a "68 coded case).

I owe yah big, Ron!

The 3.90 crank and 4.35 bore is a 464 ci combo. The torque curve will be flat and strong....much stronger than with a conventional 3.75 stroke. This engine will make power everywhere.  

Converter choice depends on the cam selection. Personally, i'd choose something in the 2500 rpm range. The turbo action 11in "street hemi" model would be ideal.

Freshening up the trans wouldn't hurt and maybe have a reprogramming kit installed to firm up the upshifts...no need to go radical for a cruiser. Transgo and B&M both make good reprogramming kits for 727"s.

As for the cam, something custom ground from engle with a 112* lsa and split pattern is worth considering.

Ron

[Johnny SixPack]

Thanks for the converter and trans. tips, Ron.

That setup sounds better suited than the 3500 that's in there.

I'm slowly but surely finding out that this car has had some interesting history.

I knew that a previous owner had raced it, but didn't expect the motor info I received from the machine shop.

Oh well, guess that's par for the course for 36 yr old muscle car.