Hi guy's i'm in the middle of rebuilding a Olds 394 for my 32 roadster project and cant seem to find any Rodbolts for it ??? Could anyone give me the name of a supplier or let me know if i can use Bolts from another make of engine. Cheers Steve.
Thanks for the reply, i've been told that you can use those bolts for the 303,324,371 but not the 394 for some reason although nobody seems to know why not ??? Many thanks Steve.
the 394 has larger connecting rod journals,hence it will need longer bolts. i used ARP BB Mopar rod bolts for my 324. i would call or email ARP,they probably have something that will work. BTW any changes in con rod weight,piston weight etc.etc. will mean you have to have everything balanced. don't forget to give the balancer your flywheel (or flexplate,or torus cover if you use an early hydro) since the 394 is externally balanced.
Thanks mate, the various part's are in the balancer's as we speak, That's why i need to sort the Bolts quickly. I tried ARP but found then of no help at all. Steve.
There might be some help on this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-47584.html If someone has the series of Street Rodder magazines from a few years ago where Doc Frohmader did the buildup of a 394 engine, maybe they can see what he used for rod bolts and post it on this thread. I know someone with those issues, but I will not be seeing them for a while.
They used aftermarket connecting rods with BBC journals and an offset-grind stroke job in that buildup. For the benefit of anyone else reading here, I'll paste what I posted to Steve's inquiry over at realoldspower.com: The 394 rod bolt is all on its own. You can swap in the 425 rods in order to get an ARP bolt. They are the same length, big end width, and take the same rod bearing. And even though the pin diameter is also the same, you will have to do something about the difference between a pressed pin (425) and floating pin (394)-- either modify the top of the 425 rod or go with a custom piston. If you should stick with a 394 rod, you might possibly be able to machine the rod bolt areas down to a shorter bolt for a different application. I've sold several sets of 394 rods to a gentleman who believes he can do that. I have not tried. Or, you can re-use old 394 rod bolts. I have sold used 394 bolts before, and I have one other person currently waiting for me to extract a set (Andy, if you're reading this, I have this other set of rods half out now and will keep working on it and hopefully finish this weekend). I may have a couple more sets of rod bolts I can sell in one month, just let me know if you need a set. But be patient with me, sometimes things keep preventing me from getting to this sort of thing.
And to clarify what I just stated above, I was talking about the '65-7 425 Olds. Not any other 425 CID engine.
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