I've heard the concerns about danger of boring hemis for years but I think they are able to go that far with little danger. 331 and 354 are basically the same engine; crank, rods, block, cam, heads interchange except for thermostat location, just different bore. Of course that goes for the '54 and later, the first generation long bell housing 331s are pretty much the same too but have odd cam snouts and a few other differences. I bored my '53 331 1/8"th over and used 354 pistons. Actually I had drag racing legend and hemi engine expert Ernie Hashim do the bore job and dynamically balance the engine since he had a shop in Bakersfield at the time. He found me 2 sets of used 354 pistons from which he assembled one good set which I am still running. He never mentioned problems with this conversion. I figured I could trust Ernie. A 354 short block is just a bored 331. 354 pistons are a bunch easier to find than 331 too.
It may just be the photo and/or the big end of the rod, but this area is looking a little deformed to my eye. A machine shop could say for sure!
Visually they look ok, but I will get it all checked out. Crank also looks ok I'll measure and see what to do next, Its not a race motor, Kustom and cruiser.
I wouldn't waste my money on those 70 year old heavy, obsolete rods. By the time you pay to have them magafluxed, resized, and upgrade the rod bolts, you will be within $200 of a new set of modern performance rods that will be stronger, lighter, more precise, and have zero fatigue.
Yeah,,,,but that is a lot of money for a new set of rods for a Kustom cruiser,,,not a race engine,,,so it will probably be pampered somewhat . He could have the rods checked for any defects,,,,they might be fine as they are . Stock Hemi rods were very good forgings,,,with very good bushings in top . If they only have slight out of round,,it would work out fine . And factory bolts are excellent as well for this application,,,maybe replace the nuts . Who knows,,,they may check out great . Tommy
I agree with Hemi Joel 100%. I have sold quite a few aftermarket rods for that same reason but as DeSoto 291 said if it’s going to have a relatively easy life then the stock rods will hold up just fine. I believe this build is somewhat budget minded and if the new rods are significantly lighter the rotating assembly really needs to be balanced which is going to add more to the cost of the build. Assuming that the pistons are replaced with close to stock then the balance will work. I as well as many other people have put rods that were probably weaker than Hemi rods through worse torture with positive results. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Good point. But lower budget than after market rods,forged pistons,roller cam stuff. You need to save some money for cool valve covers and induction systems. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
^^^^^^^ True...... Some of us want bling, but, some of us want zing.........Compromise...... if you can have both, well....
Good point, it depends on what you are going to do with it. If it's just going to be a cruiser, stock everything will suffice. But I tend to look at the over all cost vs. result. Good rods and pistons are pretty reasonable if you shop hard. Ruff numbers, maybe you'd have 3500 - 4500 into a stock rebuild all in for a 200 -250 horse, 5000 rpm motor. Stick another $1000ish into the shortblock, and it'll handle 600 horse and 7500 rpm if you ever get around to upping the ante on the cam, springs, and heads, maybe a blower. Owners choice.
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