360 con. rod bolt sizes
I'd rev with those pistons past 7000rpm no problem.
You woud, or you have? There is a differece. :bootysha:
I ran them for for many years with no problem when i was running the 284/484 turning 6500. I tore it apart freshened it and put in a cam same as what my 340 was i dont remember exacts of cam, but it was a .650 lift. i was shifting at 7600. It made it 3 days of racing a total of 17 runs before #7 rod went through the top side of the intake. Along with a big mess and nothing but the carb and valve covers salvagable.
I did a quick search for rods, and least expensive i found were scat with bolts for 250.
If your machinist is selling you off on not needing a honing plate i would find a new one! He is correct it may not have the distortion of a chevy, but it still does have distortion.
It is not an absolute must. your motor will run with out using it. But it wont be as good as one that did have it. I dont have any idea of what the hp gains are, i would guess 20 hp maybe more?
The reason for it is so after its all assembled and heads are torqued down the cylinder is still truely round and straight.
If i were to only do one motor i would pay the 104 to use their plate. When i bought mine, local machinist didnt have one, and werent going to pony it up to get one. So i bought my own. They arent cheap and they are expensive to ship. I think it was almost 600 bucks for the plate by the time it was here. But worth it in the long run.