My dad has a 496 Olds that a guy by the name of Dave Smith built him (the short block only) probably 20 years ago or so. He smoked the crankshaft years ago and I recently found the entire engine in storage. My question is which crank was most likely used to build the 496 and what would be the best place to buy a good solid replacement crank for the 496?

 

I think most the stroker cranks, are offset ground Olds cranks? I bought 4 motors years ago, and when I checked them out, one of the cranks had 2.25 rod journals.

 

I thought Dave Smith is still around, I believe I saw his name mentioned on here recently. Someone on here will know more about him. Perhaps a Google search and phone call will help.
If the crankshaft was offset ground to increase the stroke, then different rods and rod bearings were used. I am not sure what was "smoked" on the crankshaft. rod bearings or main bearings, or both. Good luck.

 

The only cranks available "years ago" were reworked factory pieces. If so, then the only options would have been a stroked 425 steel crank, a stroked 455 cast crank, or a stroked very rare 455 steel crank. Today there are aftermarket options.

The only way to know what's in there now is to open it up and look.