Found one with Forged pistons, forged I-beam rods, Cast crank, kit has all bottom end bearings with it. Says it comes "internally balanced" as the factory setup was as well.

If I give my block to the machinist and request 30 over, deck the block, do the cam bearings, hot dip, etc...

Is it just as simple as getting it back, putting the rings on the pistons, installing the rods on their respective pistons, and sliding them down the correct cylinder, compressing the rings and torquing the rod bolts?

I wont have to do any balancing, or pay the machine shop to do balancing?

If so...I think after browsing hundreds of options, Ive finally found the answer to all my prayers at long last.

If it's a ploy and its not "really" balanced....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-1-90005BI/

 

I'd still have it balanced by your machine shop.

 

 

Then whats the point of buying, very well selling a "balanced" kit if you still have to pay to have it balanced?

 

Just depends on how you want to define "good enough".

Look at it this way. I have a forged light-weight Eagle crank in my 383. Every journal on my new crank was slightly off such that I had them all turned 10 thou so they'd be perfect. Could I have used it "as is"? Yeah. However when sinking a bunch of time and money into a build, why skimp on $150?

 

You should have the balance checked because these kits are mass produced and you don't know what their factory balancing specs are.

 

"balanced kits" are just the beginning...albeit a good beginning...if possible, have everything that rotates balanced as a unit; clutch or torque converter, fly wheel or flex plate, even the crank sprocket and reluctor disc. The opportunity is now....or never.

 

Crack sprocket I guess is the timing gear? Reluctor disc?

If the flywheel is neutral, and the Harmonic Balancer is neutral...they should have no effect on balance, should they?

Torque convertor, well...it didnt vibrate before...I dont see any reason to suspect it...is it really a problem for them to be out of balance?

 

the last two small block assemblies I had balanced all showed weight added at the flywheel end (by welding on small pieces of metal onto the perimeter of the clutch pressure plate) or removal of small amounts of metal from the flywheel itself. Of course, even though these parts were "neutral balanced" from the factory, they were now a matched set requiring their assembly in the same orientation as they were balanced. The shop will provide "witness" marks on the parts to ensure they're reassembled correctly.

One thing I didn't mention was that I was running a fluid type harmonic balancer with an internal inertia ring which floats in the outer housing; because of this design I was told that it wasn't necessary to include this item to be balanced. A conventional harmonic balancer would be included in the balancing package. As would the crank hub and pulleys.

Of course you're one hundred per cent right, every thing thats factory balanced is probably acceptable. But factory balancing is like a crap shoot; sometimes the little variations cancel each other out...but sometimes they don't. I can't provide you with a vibration analysis. I can say that I ran ran both these engines pre balance and post balanced and in both cases, each was noticeably smoother after having everything balanced as a unit.

As I recall, balancing was only a very small portion, cost wise, of the rebuild work that was done and, in my opinion, one of the best bang for the buck. It's one of those operations / modifications that has no down side.

 

Red, if you really want this thing to last and go the distance.....
defintely have the stuff balanced as said above bring the parts in to your guy and have him double check things, its just good practice to do. Parts may be perfect, may need a slight touching up. If it was a new GM crank do the same thing; in the unlikely event somethign was off a touch youll thank yourself adn not have to start a "New motor is @F(*&" thread. We all have to do it....know youre trying to do this on the cheap but this should reaaaaaly be done.

P.A.W. used to include a sheet with their rotating assy that said "buyer responsible to verify clearances correct", something to that effect.
My .010/.010 Crank I ordered from them yrs ago was .020/.030 with one bad journal. Whaddya think woulda happened if I put it together with .010 bearings?

 

The engine that Pete K is building me using Scat parts has had almost every part on the rotating assemble (touched up), as Pete calls it.The small end on the connecting rods had to have 30% more material removed to bring them to a tolorance Pete's machinest would accept...I have no dought that the motor will last much longer because of it.. The way parts are mass produced today leaves it up to a machinest to make them right and get them within a reasonable tolerance. Do youself a favor and have the parts balanced and checked by a machinest so there within spec...Its what they do!!!....WW