> I need to be clued in. What is the problem re Alpine rod bolts? I
> expect to plunge into my 1725 sometime in the coming year. Can't the
> bolts be re-used?
Ray,
To preface this, let me say that I don't actually KNOW that there is
anything
wrong with the Alpine rod bolts, or whether they can be reused. The rod
bolt
project is a result of stuff I have HEARD.
Acutally, I don't even KNOW very much about Alpines, except maybe for
the number of blades on the various fans . . .
But when I bought this Series V motor last summer and decided to build
it into a competion-type configuration, I started asking questions. And the
first thing I heard was that there was something ungood about the Alpine
bottom end. I also heard it was worse on the five-main Series V motor than
on the three-main motors.
I've heard that the rods themselves were weak. I've heard that the oil
passages
in the block were the problem. And I've heard that it was the rod bolts.
When I took an Alpine rod into the machine shop where I've been doing
business
for years and years to ask the man's opinion about the 350 Chevy rod
modifications,
his first reaction was something like "What the hell's wrong with this rod?
THIS is
a F***in' forged steel rod!" (Colorful guys these machine-shop types.)
Then he
showed me a 350 Chevy rod, which seems quite puny, in comparison with the
Alpine rod.
Then, while he was looking over the Alpine rod, when the bolt fell out and
rolled
around on the counter, he said "There's your F***in' problem! The F***in'
rod bolt
is junk! . . . That's supposed to be a F***in' press fit! . . . That
F***'in' thing isn't even
going to position the F***in' cap right! . . ." et al.
Again, I don't know if he is right or not. But I do have about three
engines worth of
Alpine rods at home, and all of the rod bolts are loose. I do know, too,
that over
the years, I've never seen a bolt that loose in a rod. And I've "done" a
number of
different motors from Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, American Motors,
Willys/Overland,
and even a 30's vintage Case tractor.
So, from what I have seen and heard, I decided that it would be better to
try to
find some good rod bolts than to replace the whole rod, which in turn
demands
custom pistons. I've heard all sorts of good things about ARP bolts from
different
types of people--drag racers, road racers, roundy-round sprint-car racers,
and even
some other foole autocrossers. And, given the prices I've been paying for
new
Alpine motor parts, I'd say that if ARP can make 'em for us, these bolts are
going to be
a good buy even if they are a hundred bucks a set, which I don't expect them
to be.
(ARP rod bolts retail for anywhere from $40 to $90 a set for popular V8
applications.)
Ramon
rs11(at)ElSegundoCA.ncr.com
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