I'm starting to think about my next build and I'm interested in building a 383 stroker using a 440 crank. I have a set of old TRW .030 over 12.5 to 1 pistons that I would like to use with some BB Chevy .990 rods.

Has anyone done this before?

IMHO you could probably have the rods honed out to fit the Chrysler stock pin size, but you'd be better off to use either Chrysler rods in that case from both a cost & reliability standpoint.

If you were going the other way, bushings are made to use a .990 pin on a Chrysler rod.

It strikes me that it may be more cost effective (and give you a better result) to use a modern lightweight piston such as a Diamond 59150 which is made for a .030 over 383 running a 440 crank - and it already has the .990 pin size.

I did something similar to use bbc .990 rods on Hemi 1.03 pistons. My plan was to take out the rod bushings, and hone to a press fit, but the .990 rods with bushings out were a hair bigger than 1.03, so I ended up installing 1.03 Hemi bushings in the .990 rods, which worked OK anyway. I would guess most .990 rods can be press fit to a 1.09" pin with bushings pressed out and honed to correct press fit. My

Have you ever honed a rod .050"? You might want to price it. That's going to take awhile.
Doug

Hmmm... it sounded good on paper.

I have not checked with the shop to see if the rods could be honed. It looks like a BB Chevy 6.135 rod would be pretty close. But I have not ran the numbers yet. Since custom pistons run $800+ it was worth a shot. I figured someone had experimented with parts they had laying around like this over the years.

This will be a bracket engine so I doubt that an extra few grams of piston weight would add $800+ worth of horsepower...lol.

Thanks Guys!

If cost is a concern, you're going to have to turn down the 440 crank to fit the 383 mains, as well as the 2.200 Chevy rod journals, which may well cost you more than shelf pistons.

Budget-wise, IMHO I'd stick with the 440 crank, Chrysler journals, 440 length rods with .990 pin and lightweight pistons.