340 with metal in oil pan

Krooser said
It cost me $200.00 to have my 340 rods reconditioned with new bushes and ARP bolts. When you buy those eBay ChiCom rods are you really getting gennie ARP bolts? How much to have a shop check the new rods for correct machining? You will often find the finish work on those rods to be inferior.

How about testing the steel to see if you are getting what you paid for?

Same with those cheap heads. The key word here is cheap
..you get what you pay for.

Personally I trust 40 year old OEM stuff more than many aftermarket parts. There are some OK parts out there but how do you verify without checking?

My SBM race motor has OEM block, crank, rods, heads and intake. I'm good with that setup.

I'm not talking about eBay rods. Eagle SIR I-beam rods sell for $277 new, come with ARP bolts, and weigh significantly less than the stock rods. Are they right for every build? Of course not. Neither are stock rods.
Eagle SIR I-Beam Connecting Rods SIR6123CB

If you want to run stock rods, go for it. Not my problem. For some applications the stock rods will work just fine. My only point was that you can buy new rods for almost the same price as having them reconditioned. Even that depends on the machine shop rates where you're at, and whether or not all of your stock rods are good enough to be reconditioned. One bad rod, even at your price, and you're over.

I run reconditioned stock rods in the 340 in my Duster, and I have the Eagle SIR's in the 318 for my Dart. They needed nothing but balancing. I'm not worried about either one. I would wager the new stuff, even the new "cheap" heads, are better made than anything the factory turned out. Forging practices, machining, engineering practices, have all improved dramatically in the last 40 years. From the factory these engines frequently came with mismatched deck heights, varying chamber volumes, core shift, etc. Some of them were good, some of them weren't. The Proform heads have proven to be good. Are there some things to check? Of course. But Edelbrock's need to be checked too, they're notorious for tight valve guides and partially drilled oil feeds. And they're made in the US and cost more, but that doesn't make them impervious to mistakes.