Why is one 340 connecting rod bronze color?

nm9stheham said

Well, you know, oxy-acetylene and TiG steel welding rods are copper coated to keep them from rusting.... and that works just fine; I have had some hanging around for a decade or more and are still fine to use. So the idea of corrosion resistance has some basis to it. Maybe these are for marine use??

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But copper does oxidize rapidly in the right environment. They're probably copper clad for several reasons, including conducting electricity and heat shielding to some degree.

A con rod is bathed in oil constantly, not much reason to try to save it from oxidation, and it wouldn't explain the presence of just one rod at a time in some motors.

The rework idea seems legit. I've seen chrome used in some applications, but it's not easy to grind or bring to a good size after plating, versus copper or bronze which is.