The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Remember the "Cadillac 261"?

On the LONG stroke conversion of the 216 that uses the recycled NASCAR rods from Carrillo, I'm doing the same sort of widening to fit the crankshaft journal, but those rods will get a spacer on the top and bottom of the big end. That conversion will be using a rod bearing for a 2.4L Nissan/Datsun engine and a 4 5/16" stroke for a total displacement of 258 cubic inches in a 216 block. I've found a supplier for Nissan H beam rods that will cost about $450.00 a set, not the $3500.00 that Carrillo wants for their custom-length rods.

Here's a few pics of the NASCAR rod conversion. I'm using recycled rods from retired engines, bought from various salvage sites on Ebay. A set of 8 Carrillo rods that originally cost $3K+ is available from dismantlers of retired engines for $100-200. Of course, they have to be reconditioned and adapted to custom applications, but that's no problem for a competent engine machinist. The NASCAR rods are shorter and lighter than the 292 rods, and they use a smaller bearing, so there can be a longer stroke increase to the 235/261 crankshaft when using these rods. The downside is that the crankshaft counterweights must be machined down and the piston skirts need to be trimmed to prevent counterweight/piston interference. I'm also machining both ends of the rods for more readily available rod bearings and wrist pins than the outrageously expensive racing parts and adding a bushing at the top instead of using a coated wrist pin. The attached pics show an unmodified rod, and the spacer rings, a rod modified for the Nissan rod bearings, and a small end that's been reamed for a bushing. There's also a pic of the welding jig I use to attach the spacers. Once the spacers are installed, I use a narrow slitting saw in a milling attachment for my lathe to separate the rod and cap again. It's a fairly labor-intensive process, but the machine work is pretty simple for someone with the right equipment to do it.