Pond heads, crank, and rods
 

Reposting in FE forum. I posted in the wrong place...

Does anyone have an opinion on Robert Pond's:
- Heads (how do they flow? will they be workable years down the road? how are they in quality vs Edelbrock?),
- Crank (I believe it is imported but forged and finished in the US, may be a good alternative to Scat cast/imported), and
- Rods (same as the crank, forged/imported, Hbeam. How do they compare to Scat forged/imported/H-beam?)

Thanks,
-Lippy

Robert may have his own blocks cast, but I can't see how it would be economically feasible for him to have his own crank and rods cast...especially when cranks and rods are available from Scat at very reasonable prices.

I would imagine that he either uses Scat or RPM brand parts. Scat parts are pretty top notch for the performance level....RPM parts need some work before being "perfect."

EDIT...

Just checked his website. He uses RPM brand parts, which are cast/forged and machined overseas.

Thanks Brent. What do you think of the heads?

Never used them, so I have no data there....but I've seen flow numbers that are pretty similar to ported Edelbrock numbers.

Rumor has it that he's testing his new SOHC heads right now and few important customers like Keith Craft are giving them a workout.

You get what you pay for
 

lippy Ponds blocks have been out for years. In the beginning there are always machining problems and they get fixed. I have heard no failures or internal leaks to date on either CC or FE forumn. Now for the fun stuff
Cast crankshafts from over seas, I am running one going on 8 years. The BIG things that come into play are theses things, Correct clearances on bottom end, good oil pressure, letting motor warm up before driving, MAX rpm level of motor.
Correct clearances of bearings in mains and rods, this is the machinist thing and the assemblier of the block with doing all the work needed like rod bolt stretching instead of just torqueing these bolts.
Oil supply, oil weight, running the correct pressure for that application, having a min of 7 quarts for spirited driving if not more. IMO, & testing, and talking to other top engine builders, nothing has changes with running an HVHP oil pump with an #80 psi spring in the pump for both street and tracking. Having oil running at the correct temp. Getting the oil where it needs to go and do the best job to lube and remove heat from the location. Remember what you read on the gauge is not what is getting to the back of the block on any thing other than a side oiler motor.
Cast verses Forged. This is like anything else. Limit rpms, no banging of rev limiter, no missed shifts and good maintainance and the motor should give many years of fun without problems on a cast crank and rods. Even luck plays a big part in this and have seen and heard the 7,000 rpm motor stories and no problems with cast parts. Again back to correct balancing of complete assembly front to back. Forged stuff is more in cost. IF this was a SBC and money was tight going cast would be OK with a limit of 6,500 rpms. FE motors are not the same, cost twice as much and have limited race parts. If you have both time and money spend the extra and go forged. This is not to say the the crank or rods couldn't break and less quicker.
Heads, best thing on here is to buy a set already flowed from a known good builder here, bolt them on and be done with it. Have them recomend a camshaft also for your application. Good luck Rick L. Ps I am going with an LAE crankshaft and BMR rods n my motor. Crank is $2,800.00 alone. To repair of replace block you are looking at $6,000.00.