I got my Scat forged I-beams for about $260. Would be interested to know how much it would cost to resize stockers with arp bolts..

 

Stock rods could handle that. If the stock rods can be reconditioned for less than new rods, it may be another option.

 

I did a bit of googling on the subject....looks to be anywhere from $100-300 depending on the shop, location in the country ect....ARP has "good", "better", "best" (2000) rod bolts, the best bolts are $120 that came on my Ohio H beams. So you may end up paying MORE than you would with aftermarket new forged rods depending on local labor prices, at worst $150 extra for added insurance...something to strongly consider IMO. Labor prices are climbing a lot higher than parts prices...

 

Cast aftermarket cranks are WEAKER than stock. If you need a crank find a used stocker.

On rods, cheap aftermarket rods can go out of round after a few torque cycles, good shops will often suggest resizing brand new Scat/Eagle rods because of this. Believe the Compstar rods come pre-relieved.

 

Use what u feel comfortable with HoppedZ. All the LS motors use the powdered metal rod except the LS7 AFAIK. Where buying cheap rods u dont know if your getting advertizing hype or truly strong parts. But if u put in your own rod bolts and have the rods resized then u know what u got. Myself i would also shot peen the rods and relieve the areas around the rod bolt heads. This requires removing the bolts to relieve and replacing the rod bolts to shot peen with the rod caps on then installing the new rod bolts before resizing. Alot of extra work but then again u know what u got when done.

I wouldnt overlook your stock crank unless it is condemned bad. And if u want a forged 3.48" 1 piece rear seal crank u can find them in '87 camaros and '86-'88 trucks. As for aftermarket stroker cranks i have seen both claims - pix of broken eagle cast cranks and posts of using the same eagle stroker crank in more than one engine. At your power goals dont be afraid of using a cast stroker crank with moderate compression and rpm.

If u have rebuilt 4 sbc then the LT1 will be an easy job. But dont forget that check ball in the oil galley. If u do have block work done then most shops can zero deck the block for u so u can run a normal head size head gasket. But be sure to get the deck machined roughness in the 25 to 50 range for your aluminum heads.

Something to consider is larger 2.00"/1.55" vlvs for your heads. Maybe another $300 but should really help the stock heads at low lifts.

Good luck and let us know of your progress,
cardo

 

Some guys get by with Scat cast cranks or OLD Eagle cast stroker cranks but for probably the last 4-5 years the Eagle cast stroker cranks have been very weak with a lot of failures at power levels below those common on stock cranks. In well over a decade on a bunch of LT1 forums I am not aware of anyone overpowering a stock crank.

350fwhp will be easy with decent condition stock heads. I would keep any machining to them to a bare minimum so they are still suitable cores should you decide to go further one day.

Realistically there are bolton cars with stock cam well into the power range you are hoping for, aftermarket cam with untouched heads and decent supporting boltons will have you above those numbers easily.

Is this the cam you are looking at.

• Advertised Duration (Intake/Exhaust): 276/286
• Duration @.050" (Intake/Exhaust): 218/228
• Gross Valve Lift (Intake/Exhaust): .503"/.503"
• Lobe Seperation: 112
• Intake Center Line: 108
• RPM Range: 1800-5800
• Cam only included.

The lift is really low you could easily use 1.6 rockers. As said though you will already be above your target HP so you could keep the 1.5 rockers and enjoy longer valvespring life.

 

Everyone scared the OP away. Good job.

If you only want 350fwhp then go to the junkyard, grab a low mileage LT1 shortblock (B and D bodies included), put your aluminum heads on (assuming they're straight), and get full bolt ons. CAI, long tubes, ORY, decent 3" catback, and maybe some other dinky mods like springs, rockers, EWP, etc. if you're not there yet. Anything beyond that is a colossal waste of money IMHO.

These aren't 1st gen SBC turds, they're LT1s. You don't need to dump a ton of money into them to get what you're looking for.

 

U got it CAT, there are those here that come to scare people more than help them. Give the OP a chance, he posted just 24hrs ago.

 

Telling people to buy a $200 crank that is weaker than stock is not helpful, telling them to consider larger valves for literally bolton HP numbers is not helpful. Telling them where to find just another stock crank that is balanced heavier and going to be harder to balance to the lightweight LT1 rotating assembly is not helpful. It is like you are trying to find ways to make a simple thing harder and more expensive without actually making any improvement. Most guys would consider a heads/cam on stock shortblock engine a complete failure if it makes 100hp more than this guys goal so getting into the idea of a budget stroker is absurd.

Catmaigne had a very good idea in just finding a decent used engine. That would be cheaper than even just fresh bearings and a crank polish from a machineshop.

On the cranks, like I said most of the positive reports on Eagle cast cranks are OLD reports, ask around here and you will find a handful of guys telling you not to repeat their mistakes on that one and have the pictures of metallic gravel in the oilpan to prove it.

OP would do well to try and figure out who is experienced and who isn't and listen accordingly.

 

Who told anyone to buy a weaker than stock crank? I believe i mentioned it as an option if the stock was "condemned". But someone that believes that a mfr's broken crank or 2 means they are all totally unusable has his head were it doesnt see the light. Even forged cranks get broken from many reasons but that doesnt mean all forged cranks of that mfr are unusable. It takes a real pin head to assume a few bad mouthing posts on the internet as fact into meaning a product is unusable in any application. That type of sucker will spread his hearsay source information as fact without any real object data. More common is someone in denial after they wrongly installed the part or abused it beyond it intended use but blames the mfr to cover for their mistakes.

So where is this data base of new verses old Eagle cast cranks??? And at what power levels as were mentioned failures at certain power levels. I dont have time to waste waiting and will check back in a few days for this accurate and objective data base. So lets see your data base of a "handful of guys". Like one forum and 2 "guys" make it a accurate survey.

Another crap attack is like anyone replacing their rotation assembly wont balance it. What a pin head cheap shot. So now someone is gonna install replacement cranks without balancing?? Talk 'bout breaking cranks - now we know why. Thats as scary information as it gets. Oh oh now i get it, its only that they are harder to balance - right. Like buying a new forged crank and balancing that is gonna be soo much cheaper. Someone needs cranial rectal surgery fast.

I dont have to mention any names do i? Everyone knows who it is again.

 

im no chemist but judging by the sheer'd off bolt id say that was the failure to lol

 

if the rod breaks it would break towards the middle where is see's the most stress. not the side that just rides along.

 

It's like the equivalent of kindergarten level knowledge in the ls1-lt1 world that cast eagle cranks are a waste of money and no not just 1 or two fail. I've read of less people having what I would call "good luck" with those cranks then people who have had theirs **** out on them at ANY power level they were used with.

First try and get a stock bottom end in good used condition. If that doesn't work out then use the stock crank if it checks out. Re-size the stock rods, add arp bolts, and have them checked out. Get a set of speed-pro hyper-u pistons to finish it off. There is NO reason to spend any more on the bottom end at the power level your looking for. End of story. Focus on your top end/valvetrain and supporting mods.
As said, a cam-rockers-pushrods-valvespring swap on a stock engine with the supporting mods and a base/internet tune will EASILY hit 350. Really not much more to it...

 

Heres a proud eagle cast crank owner - bowtiy: "That my Cast eagle crank is still doing just fine... 21 passes at the track, 7 dyno pulls, and 2200 street miles.."
posted at: http://www.ls1lt1.com/forum/lt1-|-lt...pdate-say.html


Heres another happy Eagle cast crank owner - BKbroiler - that i chat with now and then:

I have a 383 in my car, with Vortec heads, 082 castings but no different than your 906. I have used the Edelbrock performer intake with a Quadrajet carb. A drop base air cleaner with a 3 inch element will easily fit under your hood. The Qjet allows a 2 inch drop to fit. I have an Eagle CAST crank, stock reconditioned rods, with ARP bolts, and JE forged pistons. This setup has survived hundreds of 1/4 mile runs, on the track, with a best of 12.17 and about 7k miles of street driving over a 7 year period. A roller cam, something like a Comp XE274 will give you all the power you need especially at the bottom and mid range from the way you desribe your expectations. You will need to cut valve stem bosses on the heads for the valve lift.

This post is at: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...m-i-doing.html

So much for the kindergarten level of knowledge on eagle cast cranks. This perpetuating hearsay has gotta stop. And again i didnt say the OP should buy one instead of his stock crank just that he could use one for his application if needed. And he could buy a SCAT cast crank to for nearly the same price if eagle cranks now scare him.

cardo

 

I don't get your ******* point. You want the OP to reuse the stock rods because they're "proven" as opposed to a set of REAL 4340 FORGED RODS like Scat I beams or the like, but on the other hand you want him to get an Eagle cast crank with a long list of horsepower related failures whereas the LT1 crank has been proven rock solid time and time again. What are you smoking??? where can I get some?

 

This entire argument over these rods > those rods and that crank < this crank is futile. None of this pertains to the OP's question and is totally pointless. Use the stock stuff and be happy.

 

I could find 6 failed aftermarket cast crank threads for you and this can go on forever. Talking about cast aftermarket cranks is just stupid.. Helloooo we have a perfectly good one that came with the motor! If that one is bad find another. $100 maximum, magnaflux and polish $60. On summit a cast eagle crank is $190 =/. Why spend more money on something that has questionable quality when you can use something for less and where the quality is undeniable. Lets save the aftermarket crank questions for a 450+hp build.

 

cardo, your first example has no PERFORMANCE RESULTS seems fairly new and a 6000rpm limit an the c am the OP has picked out will wan more than 6000rpm. It it makes it through 2014 AND actually performs you might have evidence to support your opinion.

Your other example is OLD and even those of us saying the Eagle are bad allow that the Older stuff was better than recent years so you still fail to support your opinion.

I suspect the Scat may be stronger but the only cast Scat I have been around in an LT1 was built 8-9 years ago and was a badly done build lots of expensive parts besides the cheap crank and made no power.

 

My advice find a better forum.

 

http://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1-...gle+cast+crank

https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...gle+cast+crank

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/te...ml#post5711881

This is just a quick search. For years now there has been issues with Eagle forged and cast cranks. I had problems with my forged Eagle crank regarding the pilot hole and flywheel flange being oversized and the crank snout being a tad undersized. I called Eagle on this and they stated it was a "known issue" meaning my crank was not the only one with a problem. Still usable, still balanced well w/out having to add metal, but nonetheless the specs were still out of whack. Honestly if you are going to make a claim that a cast Eagle crank is fine to use over a stock one then the burden of proof is on you. The three threads I've listed are enough for me to realize there is a history and I wouldn't want to take the gamble after spending money on a rebuild only to find out the crank used was inferior to the stock one.