440 Source I beam Rods

With all the talk of raising Tarrifs, I did an inventory of blocks and cranks. What I don't have is any extra rod sets. I thought about buying the 440Source I beams for $249 a set, just in case, somewhere down the line, I decide to do a mild build of a stockish 440. Anyone have any experience with these rods, they seem to be a much better quality than the stockers and have 7/16 cap bolts. Any feedback appreciated.

I have a set but haven't used them. I don't see any big issue with them. 5140 steel, 7/16" arp bolts. they're a little heavier than the LY rod. two annoyances I do have with them are; I believe the rod bolts are knurled so that makes taking them out a problem and the locating notches for the bearing tabs aren't perfectly located. I don't think either of the two are deal breakers. they do have wider beam flanges and the sturdier big ends would have to be a plus over LY's. of course they are off shore so measure everything.

I run them in my 440/493 and they have been in my eng since June 2011 when I fired it up. Many street miles every year and about 7 trips to the track with anywhere from 2 to 5 passes when I go racing. Just went to the track last weekend and put three passes on it as I ran out in the first round. Still running great and holding up fine. I shift about 6200 and trap around 6400. Ron

Ron, I thought you used the 'Source H beam rods? Like I said, I was thinking about putting up a set for later. You are the first one that has used them, hopefully others will chime in!

Are you wanting BB Mopar style rods with the stock rod journals or the longer BB Chevy size and type?

I ran one set of the $250 I-beams. Not again. Spring for their H-beams, it's a far superior rod and worth the extra money.

LaRoy, I just had a conversation with another pro builder and he felt the same way, I was just looking for something for a stock type 440 build and these are apparently not the ones. I will probably get some H-beams, with standard 6.76 length and a bushed .990 small end.

No I use the I beam rods in this eng and as I said they have been holding up great. But its a mild street eng that I only race maybe once a year the last 5 years. I don't run it hard on the street but drive it a good bit on the street from March to November. My brother also ran a set in one of his race cars for many years and they held up fine. It was a low 10 second car he had them in. Ron

I have a set of the h-beams in an engine that i'm running with icon pistons and I like them. I really think this boils down to use and what your trying to build.

Scat H beams with either 1.094 or .990 pin are readily available for $450 a set from KMJ Performance (Ebay). Given the Source H beams are now $499, maybe that could be a consideration.

Thats funny you say that,Zippy. I recently purchased and received a 440 source kit a few months ago, and it came from 440 source with Scat h beam rods with the kit. The 7.1” chevy rod in a scat box and all. Maybe they were short on stock of their rods, but i actually thought they were just using scat rods now. I dont know.

Well that's an interesting development.
I bet nobody would complain if they did substitute Scat.

I have been doing some more research and it is a hot topic no matter what brand you build. Over on enginebuildersmag.com there is a good article on rods. Basically they talk about how when the steel is recovered scrap, it is hard to control the quality consistantly(China's #1 problem). Interesting info on prices, according to them, rods coming out of China and India can be bought in large quantities for as little as $10 each, they also quote a large unnamed factory rep who says that most of the cheap rods you see on ebay are counterfeit and that you don't know what you are getting. The gist that I have picked up from reading and talking to several knowlegable builders is that the steel quality in the offshore 5140 I-beams is much more suspect than the NAME offshore 4340 H-beams. I started out just looking for a decent replacement rod for a 450-500 hp, sometime in the future, build. What I learned was enough to convince me that, as in most cases, the odds are more in your favor by spending a bit more. YMMV.

Last year I bought a set of C.A.T. 6.760 rods for $88. They're a little rough, but no rougher than a stock rod. The price was so low I decided to experiment.

I won't run them without doing some checking. They're definitely not usable right out of the box, because the price is so low that I'll need to measure at the least.

They might end up in a 5000rpm motor.

It's the nature of representatives of expensive things to denigrate the value of less expensive things. So about the article, I say consider the source.

R.

ron's Plymouth has around 600hp plus he beats on; 'nuff said.

The fact that we have one guy running them sucessfully does not, in itself, provide enough evidence that they are the choice for engines built up to the 600 HP range. This is no reflection on Ron, but I have read enough stuff to make me a bit wary. I would love to hear some specific experience from folks both Pro & Con on their experience with them. I am also including any of the other available I beam 5140 rods out there. I have made my decision, but I am sure there are others out there that would like some more feedback.

I had a 512 with the I beams.....did not work out well. IMHO the factory LYs held up better. I run a Molnar H beam now and have had zero issues. They aren’t $249 but then again blocks aren’t free either.

You have to go with what you will be happy with Lee. If not just for piece of mind to not be worrying about it all the time. I built my eng back in 2011 and it seemed like a lot of people were using 440Source H and I beam rods with good luck and my brother had run a set of their I beams in his race car with good luck. And I knew I would only be racing my car once or twice a year. I run it hard at the tack but I don't street race and I really don't run it hard on the street.

But its been together since June 2011 and I just went racing two weeks ago and all is still going fine. Since I knew I would be mostly doing street cruising and had heard all good about them back when I built my eng I felt very good running them with no worries. If I raced a lot and ran my car hard all the time then I would spending more on better H beams. Like you Lee I wanted to run what I felt fine with and I felt they would work good for my application with them. So far I have had great results with them. But I don't blame you for going with what you are comfortable with. I cant say if the ones today are of as good quality but from my results I would have no problem with them in a driver car that I was not racing. Course with all I hear now a days on a build I would plan to race a lot I think I would be going with the H beam also. Price was also a factor when I built my eng as I had just gotten divorced and had also just gone on disability because of my back , knee and joint problems. Good luck with your build Lee as I am sure it will turn out good for you. Ron