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what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

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Old 09-15-2012, 02:35 PM
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Car: 89 CHEVY IROC-Z28
Engine: 355 Built/High Performance
Transmission: 700R4 Swap For T56
Axle/Gears: 3.73 Posi
what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

i dont want nothing cheap that will go out but i dont have a whole lot of $$$ to spend so let me know with advice and info please. anything is appreciated.
Old 09-15-2012, 02:42 PM
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Car: 1989-92 FORMULA350 305 92 Hawkclone
Engine: 4++,350 & 305 CIs
Transmission: 700R4 4800 vig 18th700R4 t56 ZF6 T5
Axle/Gears: 3.70 9"ford alum chunk,dana44,9bolt
Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Depends on what your doing with your car and motor.
Old 09-15-2012, 02:52 PM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

i want to either put some good quality pistons with rods, i got some h597p number pistons in there not sure how good they are but also wondering of good brand bearings and rods/pistons. Dont want to do the job twice just once to do it right, i got AFR heads as well by the way. Is stroking it worth it? im thinking cause is going to be a daily driver till i get another commuter.
Old 09-15-2012, 03:38 PM
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Car: '72 Chevy Nova
Engine: Solid roller 355
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Axle/Gears: 8.5" 10-bolt 3.73 Posi
Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

I used forged keith black pistons ($400ish bucks), forged Scat "pro-stock" rods (200 some bucks) and a forged factory crank in my current engine. Don't cheap out on your bottom end, that way in the future you can put all the power on it you want. When I rebuild mine I'll be throwing on a forged stroker crank.

Stroking is worth it, I wish I'd done it the first time around. Especially if you have to buy a crank anyway.

I have clevite bearings in my motor, sees 6500-6800 RPM multiple times every time I drive her, no problems yet w 10k on the engine.
Old 09-16-2012, 12:24 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Originally Posted by urbanhunter44
I used forged keith black pistons ($400ish bucks), forged Scat "pro-stock" rods (200 some bucks) and a forged factory crank in my current engine. Don't cheap out on your bottom end, that way in the future you can put all the power on it you want. When I rebuild mine I'll be throwing on a forged stroker crank.

Stroking is worth it, I wish I'd done it the first time around. Especially if you have to buy a crank anyway.

I have clevite bearings in my motor, sees 6500-6800 RPM multiple times every time I drive her, no problems yet w 10k on the engine.
The Clevite bearing are good bearing for racing because they are hard.Their down fall for street use is they don't have a high embedding material like the Kings bearing do and when a pc of something gets in there it scratches the crank vs's embedding or being absorbed in the bearing.
Old 09-16-2012, 12:32 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

If you want a really well built rotating assembly,check out the Howards brand name.The machine work is outstanding and dead on.

www.competitionproducts.com

I have been very,very,happy with the sales and service and I am extremely critical.
Old 09-16-2012, 12:55 AM
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Car: 86 Camaro
Engine: 355- hopefully a 5.3 this summer
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

find a good machinist.

use the stock crank and rods, but get some ARP rod bolts put in the rods and have them resized..
some good lightweight forged pistons are never a bad idea..

get the rotating assembly balanced, and get the block line honed after installing studs in place of the bolts.

use Clevite bearings and some decent file-to-fit rings.

this will hold up to about 500hp and rev to the moon if you want it to.

Last edited by novaderrik; 09-16-2012 at 12:58 AM.
Old 09-16-2012, 01:34 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Originally Posted by novaderrik
find a good machinist.
a good machinist is worth his weight in gold
Old 09-16-2012, 01:40 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

What you are looking to build depends of the amount of money you want to spend. I have always felt it you want to build a $200 motor, then you have a $200 motor with very little upgrade and very little performance.. On the other hand if you spend good money you can get a matched Eagle kit, or Scat that is good for performance and reliability. Then you can spend stupid money and go all out and have all the perfomance you could ever want.
Old 09-16-2012, 01:45 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Originally Posted by 1gary
The Clevite bearing are good bearing for racing because they are hard.Their down fall for street use is they don't have a high embedding material like the Kings bearing do and when a pc of something gets in there it scratches the crank vs's embedding or being absorbed in the bearing.

Really? I didn't know that. I used the Clevite bearings because they were recommended by my machinist. Do you happen to know what the difference between the materials in the two bearings are?
Old 09-16-2012, 06:58 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Originally Posted by urbanhunter44
Really? I didn't know that. I used the Clevite bearings because they were recommended by my machinist. Do you happen to know what the difference between the materials in the two bearings are?
I stole this from their website..

Tri-Metal 77 engine bearings combine the strength of a copper-lead alloy layer with steel backing and an electroplated babbitt metal.

H - High-Performance
HD - High-Performance bearing with dowel hole
HK - High-Performance bearing with moly/graphite coating
P - Standard Clevite 77 tri-metal bearing
N - High-Performance Narrowed for greater crankshaft fillet clearance
HG - High-Performance full angular grooved bearing
V - High-Performance with Lead Indium overlay (On Main Sets this indicates partial groove also)
VG - High-Performance with Lead Indium full angular grooved bearing
D - Bearing has a dowel hole
K - Tri-Armor coated bearing
X - Bearing has .001 more oil clearance than standard
XX - Bearing has .002 more oil clearance than standard
A or AL - Indicates Aluminum bearing material
Old 09-17-2012, 02:52 AM
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Re: what type of pistons/connecting rods/ bearings to go with for rods/cam/crank??

Originally Posted by 1gary
If you want a really well built rotating assembly,check out the Howards brand name.The machine work is outstanding and dead on.

www.competitionproducts.com

I have been very,very,happy with the sales and service and I am extremely critical.
This is the primary reason for my post.Let me know what you think of the Howards stuff or if you have any questions about it.
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