I am not so sure I would endorse the use what is available mantra. We did and it bit us in the [censored] in the Vette. We needed to freshen up th engine in it and had been waiting on Cariilo Aluminum rods for the engine and they were not going to make it in the timeframe we needed to make the race in Norwalk. So the decision was made to go back to what we had always used before, a big name brand aluminum rod company that had been in this engine for YEARS. The hesitation was they had been purchsed by an equity company not so long ago, one hat has been buying up aftermarket parts manufacturers for awhile. Well after a few pulls on the dyno and two passes later here is the result of using what was available in a time frame VS waiting.

FWIW the rings are still loose on the piston, the pin if still free on the small end, other than the hearing being folded up it the surface of it looks new, as it always has. Also two others were found with cracks. Again these were brand new rods with a few pulls on the dyno and 2 passes on them.