I am currently rebuilding a 350 to swap in from my old 305. I found a guy who has Forged Eagle 5.7 H-Beam rods who is willing to sell them to me for $200. I was wondering if I should go for it and what I would have to do to put them in. Do I need to upgrade anything else, or can I just press on the original pistons and call it good?

You may say why even buy them if your not going to do anything else to the engine, and that is why I am asking if I should go for it or not.

Thanks

 

I broke too many Eagle h-beam rods. I now use Howards billet I-beam rods. Stronger and lighter than the Eagle h-beam.

I wouldn't buy a used set of rods for any cost unless there's a machine shop receipt saying they're been resized, checked for straightness and not stretched.

The average person does not have the proper fixture to change rods. You need something to hold the piston to prevent it from being damaged. When installing the rods into the pistons, the wrist pin end of the rod is heated so that it expands for the wrist pin to pass through. Once in place, the rod cools and contracts to hold the wrist pin in place. The proper amount of heat will turn the end of the rod blue.

If the rods are for floating wrist pins, you need pistons that have retaining rings in the ends of the wrist pin holes to keep the wrist pin in place. The wrist pin will float in the piston and con rod. No heat or press required to change pistons, rods, pins.

 

They are new, never used. I was planning of having a friend of mine, builds drag motors in SC, put it together for me.

So do you see any real gain to putting them in when I'm not running any large numbers or really upgrading anything else?