does anybody make a fair price aftermarket connecting rod, if i am going to spend aprox. 400$ on rebuilding the old, i might be getting close to the price of new one's.
Building a early hemi of any make,model or creed is always pricey.Just no way around it. Nothing wrong with factory rods...but what is your intention for the engine...Cruiser?..Hot street engine?...Drag race occasionally?... or "I am gonna be the Baddest in the Valley" type deal..? The bolts.....definitely replace... they are 50 years old. the rods.... what needs to be rebuilt?....shot peen? mag them? I would definitely use new rods, new bolts,have the crank checked out, your block sonic tested, etc,etc.... just all the up front insurance steps.....building these things(no matter of any vintage) is spendy..very spendy I am not trying to be in anyway disrespectful.... I am just trying to get a bead on what your end game plan is?
hot cruiser in a roadster, old school type of car, i wasn't trying to go cheap, i just didn't want to spend on something that was good enough to do the task, i will be close to 10 000$ if not more on the complet hemi build with accesories i was wondering if i can get a set of new rods for a few hundred bucks more than rebuiling mine then i may chose that option.
You should be fine with the stock rods. Never hurts to have them magged and shot peened, as Jeff mentioned. The stock rods are nice pieces from the factory. Very good decision to replace the bolts with ARP. Especially with the boost in performance you're planning. Welcome to the world of early Hemis. Very little is cheap with these big ******s.
here is the top end, horne 4x2 intake with polished O brien trucker valve covers, it is all sitting on 1 of my spare hemi's
ARP rod bolts nuts, arp studs for the mains. I have had rod bolt failure, directly attributable to the person ***embling the engine, me.
Yes! In fact, that's what I'm going to do. I know the stock rods will take a beating, but I'm going to spend the extra $100 or so and just buy new ones. Here is a link to the 331/354 rods: http://www.campbellenterprises.com/354-hemi-parts/354-hemi-connecting-rods-k1.php And a link to the 392 rods (for those interested): http://www.campbellenterprises.com/...k1-392-hemi-chrysler-hemi-connecting-rods.htm At $514 a set, it's not worth it to me to rebuild the old ones. You should be able to sell your original set for $50 or so to help recover a little. Also, they use a more common and less expensive (they claim so anyway) rod bearing, so you will need to factor in that cost too. If you already purchased your Hemi rod bearings, you should be able to sell them for close to what you paid for them. Take care, David
nice rods at good price, is there any that use the original rod bearings, i alredy purchased the bearings.
George, I read somewhere (most likely on speedtalk.com) the company K-1 is a division of Carrillo, and the products are off-shore. Hemi Rodder, Don't know of any replacement aftermarket rods for the 354 other than the K-1's. Another thing you might need to look at... If you're rotating ***embly has already been balanced with the stock rods, he will need to touch that crank again with the new rods. Just a thought.
I too think it's sad they're not domestically made. Another interesting thing to note about the rods, on the Campbell Enterprises website, they list them as 4340 forgings. But on the K-1 website, they are listed as machined 4340 billet. Now if we can get some company to start making stroker 4340 billet cranks that don't cost 3 grand each...
just got a quote back from the machine shop, 60$ a rod for machining both ends and installing the bolts and bushing, that is labor not parts included, that is 480$ plus tax, shipping and the price of arp bolts and bushings, looks like i would be at the price of new one's, then there is the probleme of balacing if i go with new rods?????
The final rotating ***embly needs to be balanced. Even with the stock rods. I brought it up earlier in case you already had your machinist balance the engine with the old rods and new pistons. If you haven't balanced the engine yet, then you are lucky and only need to do it once. Did that make sense?
There are plenty of other purveyors of con-rods...I like the Crower pieces. The catalogue has many that could be used if you had not already finished the work on the rotating ***embly. The stock 354 rod is probably more than adequate for your needs. I have built several semi-nasty 354 with stock rods and the owners have not reported any issues. .
It is my understanding that K-1 has recently changed hands. Many of these types of rods are off shore forgings, and advertised as machined in the U.S.A. Take that for what it is worth. Depending on what your stock rods are like, mileage, etc., you may not need bushings.
The Jalopy Journal
