Stroke with only Pistons and Crank?

My question still remains in regards to balancing the entire assembly with what will likely be light weight pistons and crank with heavy factory rods... $$$???...

Maybe? With an external balance setup, the counterweights seem to be plenty big enough to allow for balancing. Mine did, and it uses OEM rods. No Mallory, and a balance is $200 in my town. Might be a different story if shooting for an internal balance.