Setting out to rebuild my Pontiac 350. I've got 105,000 pretty easy miles on the rods in my 1969 350. The stock cam ran out of wind at 4000. I am thinking of using a cam that revs to about 5200 with the overall goal of reaching 400 pounds of torque. If the rods are in good shape will they live to 5200 reliably?
I think so. Some people think they are week but mine was raced before I bought it and the rods were Okay when I took it apart. Jim Hand states in his book he's had no problem with stock rods in over 2000 drag runs at 5500 rpm. That's in a longer stroke engine, smaller strokes should be able to rev higher. His opinion is good enough for me.
Rods should be fine to 5500 or so. The thing is if you're going to use them they should be at least checked for stretch and new bolts installed which is going to cost almost as much as a new set of 5140 rods so why would you bother with the old ones. Just consider them like old bearings and buy new ones even if they look fine. If you're setting your sights on 400ft lbs of torque you'd probably be better off just shelving the 350 and going with something bigger. You could spend alot of money on that 350 and never get where you want to be. You will pretty much spend the same money on a 455 to rebuild and you'll end up easily reaching your goal. Just my .02
