[MD79TA]

Those 455 were torque monstersbut the Buick /olds were even stronger and saw very few rod problems with either. Problem were the cars were to heavy. It was a blast in those days I think back on how lucky most of us were not hurting ourself or someone else . I can tell you the Pontic where I lived were the king. But plenty of competition from others .had to bring your A game .Ford 427 and a hemi if you could find one running right were tough. I'm getting way off topic Doug

[wheneaglesfly]

For the Record I have 2 sets of Crower Rods now.
New.
Made for me.

Pontiac V8.

Good for 1 million Fatigue cycles.

[wheneaglesfly]

I save up to buy the Best.

[wheneaglesfly]

What I love about Street Racing is all can compete.
With Hellcats there is a Fast car to beat.
It can run to 202 mph stock.

One mistake and your dead.

Man & Machine must be One.

[lust4speed]

Pick-A-Parts were full of Pontiac's in the mid 1980's. First thing we would always do was duck under the car and look for holes in the pan and block before getting excited about pulling an engine. Amazing how many we found that were ventilated. Most all of them had the cap let go at the bolt hole, and then the crank would push the rod out the side of the engine.

I've spun a couple of rod bearings with stock rods over the years, but was lucky enough to have the rods stay together. Basically the stock rod and/or the cap got a little too elastic and allowed the bearing to move. I thought I was totally safe at 6,000 on the 400, but found out that I was a little too optimistic - and this is the problem, the damage point is somewhere close to the selected RPM limit and each engine will be a little different. I'd much rather have an aftermarket rod that was good for 1,500 RPM above where I shift, than one right on the line.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by wheneaglesfly

For the Record I have 2 sets of Crower Rods now.
New.
Made for me.

Pontiac V8.

Good for 1 million Fatigue cycles.

I certainly hope they are good for more than that. At just 3000 RPM, they are cycling 100 times per second! That's 6000 times per minute! Won't take very many miles to rack up 1,000,000 cycles.

[pontibeast]

Originally Posted by wheneaglesfly

I save up to buy the Best.

Yeah, that is the best way to do it but my Lemans is my daily driver so when my 350 had a 2 piece valve drop I was left with very little time to save up. If this engine runs well for a year or two I will put my 428 together and the engine that is being installed now will go into a 3rd gen Trans Am that my wife wants to build/drive. It sure isn't cheap to get a reliable and powerful engine done but that is something I was aware of before. It stinks sometimes having champagne tastes and a beer budget but like you said it's just a matter of waiting until you can get it done.

[wheneaglesfly]

Originally Posted by gtofreek

I certainly hope they are good for more than that. At just 3000 RPM, they are cycling 100 times per second! That's 6000 times per minute! Won't take very many miles to rack up 1,000,000 cycles.

I am not worried one least bit here with my choice Crower.
1 Set is Ti Titanium .

[wheneaglesfly]

Originally Posted by pontibeast

Yeah, that is the best way to do it but my Lemans is my daily driver so when my 350 had a 2 piece valve drop I was left with very little time to save up. If this engine runs well for a year or two I will put my 428 together and the engine that is being installed now will go into a 3rd gen Trans Am that my wife wants to build/drive. It sure isn't cheap to get a reliable and powerful engine done but that is something I was aware of before. It stinks sometimes having champagne tastes and a beer budget but like you said it's just a matter of waiting until you can get it done.

The Cast Arma Steel Rods I used were in my Trans Am when I bought it in 1994.
Prior my Trans Am was driven from Illinois to Los Angeles California .
Driven daily for 2 years there.
Street Raced daily in L.A.
Then driven back home to Illinois .
I found her and bought at 28 years old.
Got the full story & History .
Never in LA did she blow.
Nor for me.

[wheneaglesfly]

I really haven't seen one single source as reliable as HO Racing after all these years.

Nunzi too.

[wheneaglesfly]

Stuff to do today guys.
I am not Your Pawn to Wizz & Sheet on.

I will Street Race.

I won't start a Thread here on my Trans Am.
I have my other Forum.
Pictures there of my Goodies.
Have my own Website too.

I dictate.

[MD79TA]

WTF was that????

[tempest1964]

It was over my head too! Lol.

[pontibeast]

I am on Yellow Bullet a fair amount and I am beginning to think that this is one of the trolls over there. Convict is this you? Coming over hear because too much flack on YB? He talks in the EXACT same off topic ramblings as this guy. I am not 100 % but more like 99%. He has a Pontiac he talks about over there a fair amount. I hope the moderators here don't let him spew his junk on hear.

[Sun Tuned]

Titanium set of 8 Pontiac rods had to be purty stout $$$...

B a shame to put those in a stock block!

[WARPed]

Originally Posted by Sun Tuned

Titanium set of 8 Pontiac rods had to be purty stout $$$...

B a shame to put those in a stock block!

x2!!

[AG]

Crower Ti rods are only $4666 plus shipping. Doesn't everybody have them?

[tempest1964]

I don't! Lol

[dataway]

Originally Posted by MD79TA

WTF was that????

Exactly .... and it's getting more frequent.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by b-man

Always build new.

Even if it takes longer and costs more.

Then you'll always be sure of what you're getting.

Best of luck with refreshing your used engine purchase, now's the time to do it up right.

Have patience, it will all work out better in the end.

I can't agree with this more, you NEVER know what you're getting unless you build it yourself. (or have a known-good shop build it for you).

Vaseline? Really!?! That's not old school, that's monkey butt stuff IMO. No one from the old school circles I know ever did that that I'm aware of. I guess maybe it works, but I would think that grease would be a better choice?

Anyway, I HATE hearing stories like this, just plain sucks. And why I try to tell people that you never get away cheap. If you don't have the money to do it 'right', wait. Most of the time you end up paying more in the long run if you try to do it on the cheap.

Maybe try to find a low mileage 350 2bbl complete somewhere and drive on that while you build an engine? If you need to use it for transportation that is.

I too agree that cam bearings can suffer major abuse and still not impact performance enough to require replacement. I would maybe question the shop more. They may be just trying to drum up some biz.

.