What value are you talking about, they cost the same basically unless you're looking at all cast stuff. I don't like small base circles and the 383 is a tiny bit better there but it's no problem if you know what you're doing.

 

Come to think of it the ones I had to tear down were beat on motors anyways, and the machine work on the blocks was horrible.

The longer rod is still going to help side loading, and as Rich said most big HP motors aren't going to see lots and lots of miles anyways.

Bret

 

Bret I agree with you that shorter rods do load the walls more. There's nothing to debate there but it's no where near as bad as people think. The angularity is not much change and it's really a triangle based on half the stroke and the whole rod length so it's not quite as bad as people usually believe.

The skirts on a 14 to 1 SBC will almost always show wear to one side but it isn't always the thrust even on the same engine on different sides and people always say it's from rod angle when it's from the offset or heavier dome on one side. Also if you do a good job of chamfering the tops and bottoms of the cylinder this type of wear out the bottom is greatly reduced and almost eliminated depending on the piston type and skirt or wall clearance.

We spend a huge amount of time on detail work and it makes a difference. I see stuff go out and come back in all the time. On last years LS1Tech series Top Gun Champion Rick Intrau's 396 LT1 with "around" a 300 shot running 150 in the quarter at a pretty heavy weight, the skirts looked great and they went through hell. That was with a 6 inch rod and all the pistons are there at 1.0625 CH. I'd rather see the taller piston with the 5.85 but that's what he had.

 

Here's my horrendous pics from a motor built by 1st Performance in Mesa, AZ.

Here's my pics:
http://azsupersport.com/images/396oo...oops%20004.jpg
http://azsupersport.com/images/396oo...oops%20011.jpg
http://azsupersport.com/images/396oo...oops%20012.jpg
http://azsupersport.com/images/396oo...oops%20014.jpg
http://azsupersport.com/images/396oo...oops%20015.jpg

Your information is very disappointing to me as he had me convinced the clearancing issues were my fault for supplying him the Eagle H beam rods.



Mike

 

Yep that is simply a shop that doesn't know what they're doing or maybe it was their first one or something? I've never done that on any SBC so far and I've done 4.000 strokes too and one 4.125 as well.

The newer Eagles have shorter bolt heads which helps too.

 

Not only is your machinist/engine builder wrong - he's dead wrong and borderline incompetent.

 

You are being too nice.

 

Not here

 

I just finished clearancing my 396, I used a cola crank with scat h beams. It was scary getting enough clearance but I didn't hit water filled block with hardblock to bottom of freeze plugs just to be sure.

John Carpico