I talked about this crank a few months ago but wanted to post up some pictures especially since my local machinist doesn't think I should run it because it had metal welded in "vertically", instead of "horizontally" during the balancing process. He apparently has seen motors where a slug installed in this manner has come out.

The machinist who balanced it welded in a piece of billet steel in existing balancing holes because otherwise the front of the crank would have taken a ridiculous amount of mallory metal to balance. Basically he turned down a piece of billet steel, iterference fit it into an existing drilled hole, and then welded it in. It looks like it was done right to me and I think the chances of it coming out are slim and none, but wanted to see what some of you experienced guy thought. If I don't use this crank I'm going to have to find another 3.800 stroke crank, which so far I can't find on the Internet, except for the GMPP model, which is what this is and why I got in trouble with it in the first place. If I can't find a 3.800 crank, I'm also going to need a different piston because the compression heighth isn't going to work.

Anyways here's a link to the pictures:
http://home.comcast.net/~mhansel658/DCP01025.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~mhansel658/DCP01026.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~mhansel658/DCP01028.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~mhansel658/DCP01029.JPG

 

Nothing wrong with that.

When I got my 540 balanced with an internally balanced crank, there's a small balance weight in the way from where weight needed to be added on the side. On one of the balance weights where the holes were drilled like yours, my machine shop cut a plug to be inserted and TIG welded it into the crank. This machine shop builds a lot of race engines and knows what to do.

If the slug comes out then it wasn't installed properly. They should have heated the crank and put the plug in the freezer. This will allow easier installation then when both pieces equalize in temperature, they're stuck tight.

 

I don't see a problem with running that... I have seen much much worse balance setups come out of running motors, he did the right thing by doing a two step retention with the press fit and weld. I have seen billet plugs like you described welded to the end of the counterweights sticking out towards the direction of rotation...now that was scary