Re: GM Forged Rods on Turned 401 Cranks -SCAT. etc.

[dsoutherland@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Nick - 
I think you are comparing apples to oranges.  No one stated or assumed that by using the 6" GM rods that a "cheap" engine could be built.  All that was communicated was that you can use a commercially available part (rods) in the AMC arena and it would be cheaper than having to purchase a custom made part.  A set of good quality (yes, they are imports and yes, they are good quality) 6" Chevy rods for $600-$800 are a heck of a lot cheaper than a custom rod for an AMC.

You cannot use your 360 rods in a 390 or 401 without additional machining to the rods.  The 290 thru 360 rod is .990" wide on the large end compared to .920" wide for the 390-401 rods.  You would have to run the numbers for cost to see if there would be any advantage to using this rod over the plethora of Chevy stuff that is out there.  The amount of additional machine work is the same for both cases.

Randy - 
There are a couple of additional choices for rods that were not mentioned.  CAT is an American based company that makes a lot of OEM and now aftermarket products and would be a good source for an economical rod.  Also, Manley will make an I-beam rod that matches 360 OEM specs for around $650 a set, minimum 10 sets, based on their Sportsmaster forgings.  This is more expensive than the SCAT rods, but it is I-beam, American and a whole lot cheaper than Carillo, Oliver, Saenz or any of the other custom manufacturers, albeit not as good quality.

For out and out race situations, the 390-401 rods are poor quality in comparison to the aftermarket rods.  If nothing else, just in the material selection.  The factory rods were forged from 1042 SAE steel where the aftermarket rods use superior alloy selections.

IMHO
Dwight Southerland

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