[blykins]

I know Jim Kuntz. I have a lot of respect for Jim, or any other builder that's been doing it for decades. However Mark, I think that comment should have been made privately. Of course, tact and common sense are not traits that are widespread on public forums these days...

Rick, how much horsepower are you planning on making? 400? 425? Those rods with the 3/8" ARP cap screws are stronger than anything the factory ever had. I will tell you this... I have a customer running one of my 347 SBF's in a 7.50 1/8th mile car. I'm using those very same rods, and he's launching at 5500 and shifting at 7000. This is a car that will tickle the 6's in the 1/8th mile. Not sure what the horsepower is, it dyno'd at 486, but that was with a smaller carb. We picked up some ET with a new Quick Fuel 750.

The crank and rods will probably out-live the block.

If you're really concerned about it, go with a Crower Sportsman rod, or something similar, and try to keep it light. As far as Scat H-beams and Compstar H-beams, they're going to be exactly the same. Heavier, but equal quality.

I would skip the girdle altogether, put some ARP studs in the mains, and make sure the rotating assembly is light and balanced very well. A girdle will do nothing but hold the caps together when the block splits in two. I've seen pictures of a 302 block literally broken in half, and all the girdle did was keep the main caps bolted together so it was easier to clean up.