Reply to "Build Your Own 91 octane, 500 HP, 377CID CLEVELAND?"

The Ford bearing is larger in dia but narrower, which doesn't work as well at extreme rpms: the oil cushion is not as large as the smaller dia but wider Chev rod bearing. You have to narrow cheaper Chev rods or have the Ford crank throws ground both smaller in dia. and wider for the wider big-ends of a Chev rod. Once done, you get into mandatory custom pistons (or rods) because Ford uses a 0.912" dia piston pin while Chev is 0.927", and for a 351C-type head the piston crown must be relieved for those two big stagger-angle valves. Chev pistons could be used for the street but the crown looks awful with the four almost universal Chev straight-valve reliefs underneath the two big 351C stagger-angle cuts. This gives a notable compression reduction plus multiple hot-spots, I suspect. All this mix-and-match stuff started with NASCAR: they often use 2.1 or 2.0" Chev rod bearing size (or 1.88"-dia Honda for 9800-rpm short-track racing), Ford main bearing size, lighter, shorter Ford wristpins in custom pistons and a host of others. Why? 'Cause they work- for their purposes of minimum weight and max. reliability for a max. 500-mile engine life