Hello, I have a problem. Had my machine guy buy me a rotating 383 kit for an LT1. Bascialy the botom end of the motor is all together and I just found out through Eagle's web site that the cast crank that was in the kit he got is only rated up to 400hp. I told him before he bought it I wanted to make around 500 flywheel and 400 to the ground.

My question: is it going to break if I end up making 500 flywheel hp? I don't know how these ratings work but I don't feel real good right now because my entire top end is a big question mark now. I know the rods are good to 500 and it has a forged piston in it. Let me know were I stand with this. It is going to be a street car but I don't want doubts every time I step on it weather I am going to flush 2300 dollars worth of work to the block and parts.

 

If you do a search you will find pices of what happens when guys lean on the Eagle cast cranks.

 

The best thing you ever did is post here about that crank.

DO NOT run that junk!

The eagle cast cranks have been popping left and right.

It might be an expense now but it will be much worse when the crank grenades.

Just search "eagle" on here and see for yourself...

Cut your losses now, sell the cast junker and invest in either a lunati or callies piece.

Your machinist should work w you on machining costs since its technically his fault. I do believe Eagle used to rate their cast cranks higher. They probably pulled the rating down since they realized they were producing ****.

 

There was a thread recently about Eagle Cranks which was full of carnage. I would stay away from it.

 

So I'm truley limmited to throwing the stock heads back on it and praying that I only make 350?

 

I wouldnt run that crank. Period

 

K thanks guys looks like I should have bought the crap I wanted from the start

 

Use the stockcrank, it's much stronger than the eagle junk, it will hold 500 flywheel without issues.

**just realized you are trying to build a 383 not 355, never mind**

 

Off to find the threads to see when my crank is gonna break.

 

So a couple out of thousands have broken? I better take mine out!

25,000+ miles here and still doing fine. But I won't argue about the QC being **** on them.

 

Check with Ohio Crankshaft, Compstar or Scat 4340 forged cranks you can get one or $550 - $700 and have piece of mind when you stand on it and room to grow.

 

The forged eagle cranks work well. I have had good luck with them. A few people have even run some pretty good numbers with them, Forced Inductions ring any bells. I realize you are talking about something different as it is a cast crank. Just wanted to give you another option.

 

You running cast or forged?

The failures are mostly cast.

The forged have QC issues that only lead to failure when the machinist fails to do his job.

 

For as many times as this is brought up I'm suprised people still think they need to spend thousands of dollars on aftermarket parts. There are many people here making 400-450 RWHP N/A on stock crank/rods with a good forged piston and ported stock heads. DO YOUR RESEARCH PEOPLE! lol.

 

Listen to the guys above telling you not to run them. Despite it being what you don't want to hear, they are honest with you because they don't want you to make a mistake.

Why not do a 355 build with a stock crank? Our stock cranks are fine for 400 to the tire if machined correctly.

Best of luck with your decision

 

I understand the stock is better and that was the rout I wanted to go but the motor I found had been starved of oil and the crank and rods were shot. By the way guys this is not just the builders fault. My father was the one who recommended this guy and I put it in their hands to figure out what I would need and how to get it. I told Them I would find another stock crank and do a 355 setup with new rods but for some reason my father after 2 weeks of arguing told me to just spend the money and go with a stroker setup and that his machine guy would order the parts. Unfortunately my father has not done much with me in my life so I put it in his hands to help me out with the bottom end and have some father and son time this Christmas. It’s also hard that he is in Georgia with the motor and I am in Florida. I have great skills under the hood but I am so **** about things I can't bring my self to build one because I want it done right. It's amazing to me that my father has built and rebuilt motors, cars all his life, some from the ground up and it is just my luck to have yet another let down. After 33 years of life you would think a guy could catch a break every now and again. Thanks for all the input guys, sorry to dump like that. I'll post back some plans I come up with to fix this problem. Thanks again, JAY

 

Kinda tough to build a 383 out of a stock crank dontcha think...?

 

Sorry to hear that! Keep your head up! Maybe he does not know much about LT1's and Eagle cranks.

If you do a 355 build-up with a proper rotating assembly, good machining, good heads/cam/intake porting, proper valvetrain, full bolt-on's and accommodating parts - you will hit that 400rwhp mark.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Guys on here are awesome and very helpful and will tell you everything you need to know to get your build done proper and to your goals. Hoping a few more will jump in.

Sadly, I'm 19 and not very smart with car stuff as far as building.

Again, best of luck with your build. You will be very happy with the beast when its done. These cars are beyond fun!

 

I would not do a 355 because you'll spend more money because you'll also have to buy new pistons which will cost at least $500 for a good set and you'll still have to buy a used stock crank and have it machined and balanced. You can get an Ohio Cranks 4340 lw 1pc rear seal 3.75" crank for about $550, then all you'll need is to have the crank balanced and finish off your 383. That's what I'd do anyway since you already have rods and pistons for a 383.

 

Ship the crank back to Eagle and tell them you want a forged crank. You may run into a couple of issues like having to reem a flywheel to fit and have to buy an oversized pilot bushing or a gnarled pilot bearing, but in your situation it's about all you can do w/out loosing your shirt, unless Eagle will just take the crank back and give you your money back. If that's the case then go with a Compstar forged crank.