For a 383, I have smoothed off the shoulders of the rod bolt with no problems. This would be for a mild to moderate performance engine with $200-400 rods that aren't stroker clearanced. For real mild low budget 383 builds, I have even used stock rods, and smoothed off the shoulders without problems. For a high hp engine say 500+hp, I would go with the Crower stroker rods. And if you go to a 3.875" stroke or a 4.0" stroke or more, the Crower stroker rods are the only things I will use. Things become a lot tighter with the bigger strokes, and you need a dedicated stroker rod.

 

i think this guy is feeding you a line of ****.. that cam came out of a 383 with eagle h beams that was line honed. i don't think that he even mocked it up. i doubt your i beams have a bigger big end then my rods. shave the bolts down and be done with it. scat rods have a great rep everywhere else on the internet outside of this site, which is funny cause there is like a handful of people on this site that actually have serious racing experience. his rotating assembly is perfectly fine for the power levels it will be at. a set of $700 rods in a 450hp street engine is really a worth while purchase. i would take any advice jim and pete have to offer.

 

Well since I don't really feel like spending $500+ on a set of really nice rods,

I am going to tell him to grind the bolts down. We'll see what he says...

I agree that I should be charged with the reassembly fee.

Do any of you feel its necessary to have it totally rebalanced after the heads were shaved?

I'll keep you guys posted.


Thanks to all of you for your opinions, LOVE the forum!

 

Technically, you could say the engine would need to be rebalanced after shaving the sides of the rod bolts. But the reality is you are probably taking a 1/4 gram off the big end of the rod, which is really nothing. The industry standard is parts can be within 7 grams and that is acceptable, you won't feel a vibration. So the little bit taken off to clearance the rods really won't change much.

It really is a minimal amount of grinding for the rods to clear... at least on a 3.75" stroke.

 

Would you spend the extra 220 dollars to have it rebalanced? Keep in mind I am not totally loaded with $$$$.

 

Depends on how well it was balanced the first time? We chatted a little about this, I think if it was balanced well then taking the extra off isn't going to be "bad". If the balanced job isn't that good plus changing the weight in grinding then it could be a shaker.

 

Just got off the phone.

He said that the rods cannot be ground down because they are not capscrew rods. Is this a steaming pile of ********?

I told him that scat sells their "stroker" rod for about 250 dollars. He said if the new rods are dangerously close in weight to the old rods, he will assemble it and run it. However if it needs to be rebalanced, he will only charge me $100 for the balancing.

 

Just grind the rods and be done with it.

 

He won't grind the rods because "they are not capscrew rods so they can not be ground down"

I feel like grinding his face right now.

I ordered the SCAT 6" 'stroker' rod. 4340 forged steel. I went with this option because i am not 100% sure of which rod is in there right now and I would hate to have one let go and ruin my engine after going through all of this ********.

 

i really feel like the guy is just trying to soak you for whatever he can. the new rods should be pretty close in weight. but to have it rebalanced would be even better for a piece of mind. you still will have built this thing for not a whole lot of money when its all said and done.

 

I think the thing that bothers me most about this story is why this was a surprise to begin with? Any builder worth half a damn would mock up a combo unknown to him before assembly. I don't even want to get into a pushrod length discussion with a small based cam.............. not with this guy.

 

Mainly why I am throwing money at this problem. If I get into any sort of argument with this asswipe who knows if I will ever see my heads or block again.

 

Scat rods are good quality rods, they last as long as they are properly setup just like any thing else.. The problem with your engine builder is that he should have done a mock up and clearance the block. I have a 434 with 6 inch rods in a stock deck height bow tie block and the machinists did all of test fit before we got the assembly back. Unless your usuing a really high lift cam, how would the rod bolts hit the cam lobe and not the block. On my block it was clearance for the rods to block and crank to block. Then Jake and built the short block and check all the clearances, the only problem we found was that I could not run a .473 lobe lift on a 1.00 base circle, my cam was already ordered with .900 base circle and .440 lobe lift. so there was no problem.
Can some explain to me how with a stroke of that size, the rods bolts clear the block but not the cam? Would not the crank come in contact with cam before the rod bolts? Not trying to take over your thread.

 

He already clearanced the block for the rods. That part has been taken care of already, its just the cam meeting the rods which is the issue.

 

Ask him what you owe him and take your engine to a shop with an assembler that is proud of the work he does. This guy's attitude is totally unacceptable. IMHO. Good luck!!!!!

 

 

back in the olden days when 383 combos were still a work in progress, it was quite common to read buildups where the shoulder of the bolt was ground down....apparently without harm.

 

Could you bring it home, disassemble and label everything, clearance it, and reassemble? With what tools you have I think you would need something for the rings? I'll be in the shop changing wheel bearings if ya need any help.

 

ANOTHER thing to consider? are your rods bushed for floating wrist pins ? if so disassembly and reassembly will be easy...HOWEVER if the pins are pressed in, they must be removed with a hydraulic press...which isn't hard on the rod...but the pin can be subject to damage ....WORSE the entire pressure of the press must be absorbed by the piston...and again I've read that some builders will not reinstall a piston so removed ( it could be an issue of cast vs forged pistons, cast being brittle).

People love to speculate and that's their privilege. But before making any decisions, look up some old articles; talk to people that have actually run strokers where the bolts have been ground on; see if it was a problem for them.

Research the procedure, look at actual photos of ground rod bolts. I think you reach this conclusion: "I don't have to pay some unappreciative a** to do that; I can do that myself ". Whether or not you do it is another issue; but, given the level of frustration / disappointmen you have with your present machinist, I'd have some other shop do it for sure.

 

When all is said and done...and you're rolling down the street, you'll want to have a warm-fuzzy feeling about your build. Consider that before proceeding. Consider that before choosing your builder.