I will be gathering parts here and there for my somewhat mild 383 rebuild. So far I have Scat 9000 Cast crank, LE3 heads and my block is a 4-bolt main block. Plan on shifting around 6500 and will NEVER see boost or nitrous.

My question is this, looking at Scat I-beam rods there are 3/8" and 7/16" bolt size rods. I know the 7/16" bolts are stronger, but do they make clearancing the block more difficult being wider?

Also, this crank says is for 5.7" rods, does that mean that's the only rods I can use, or is it possible to use 6" rods with this crank?

 

The crank for 5.7 rods will work fine with 6.0 rods, your machinist will deal with the imbalance when doing the rotating assy.

 

That's what I was thinking. What about the rod bolt sizes and clearance?

 

You will need to have the block ground on to clear the rods, that's not avoidable - cam clearance generally is not a problem with the rods that I have used for 383's, you will need to check that and correct if necessary in your specific application. The 7/16" rods are worth the minor extra grinding for the added strength they give, the Pro-I beam rod is a much stronger design than the 3/8" rod

 

i have 6" rods make sure you get the pro comp i beams with the 7/16 bolts. plenty of clearance. h beams have alot less clearance, especially eagle stuff. scat is pretty good though.