I would like forged pistons for whatever i might throw at it in the future, are the rods pretty strong? or do i need those forged also. (those things are pricey!)

 

Depends on what you're going to throw at it!

 

Factory Olds rods are forged. They are pretty strong, but if you want 500+ HP, and over 6000 rpm, you may want aftermarket rods if you want the engine to stay together for a long time. By the time you get the stockers rebuilt and ARP bolts installed, you will have a few $ in them too.

 

there seems to be a very small market of rods for us. mondello has a set from 5 or 600. and i believe one other company i saw on summitracing for over 600.
are those my only options? i cant believe how much they are compared to pistons.

 

Go to www.cnc-motorsports.com and go to Eagle. They have em there at a better price. Again your application will warrant whether or not you need them. Have them checked though, I'll bet they'll need reconditioning, then you're back to square one. Maybe polishing and reconning the stock rods with new bolts may still be the way to go.

 

You can get eagle on e-bay for around 450.00, there are aother manufactures that make them also Scat, Cat are others that come to mind.

If you building a street machine the factory rods are plenty strong enough

 

in 2 years im hoping to have a blower on it. so i figure i might as well do it now. what do you guys think? 450 isnt bad.

that cnc site doesnt have anything less than high 600.
even scat was pricey. ill look on ebay though.

 

I agree with Pat.

 

Look here http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-E...Q5fAccessories