Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance chevy forged cranks?

did any of the smaller chevy inlines (194/230/250) use a forged crank in any years. also at what rpm do the harmonics start with each of these? tom

Can't give you the years, Others may have it, but taxi's with 230's had them.

Tom,
only the 194's has forged cranks.That I know of.
I have one.
If I remember it is not fully counter weighted??
Or maybe I am confusing it w/the 292 forged crank be not fully counter weighted?

Anyway, I have a 194 forged crank STD.
I believe the years are 62-63?
Harmonics are probably low w/such a short stroke.
You put my forged 194 crank in a 230 or 250 block & you get 230 CI.
Only the 194 CI engines had the forged cranks out of the 194-250 engines, that's what I have gathered.

The Leo Santucci Power Manual says the forged crank was made for only one year (63') in the USA but it was made in Canada through 64'. He mentions it only has six counterwieghts, and that there are also cast cranks that have only six counterwieghts (64'thru 66). Everything since has the full 12.

It's the '63 model year [1962] that has a forged crank in the 292.

leo's book is good, i have one, but it is mainly about the 292 motors. it really only discusses the 292 cranks, and gives casting # for the other motors but no description. i have a couple 194 motors ,3-4 230's, 1 215, and a few 250's. one of the 194's i have is from the first year nova, it even has the generator instead of alternator. i would hate to pull the crank as it is low miles and complete with the whole drivetrain from the nova. would the forged crank gain much strength over the cast crank in a high winding and hp application? tom

Tom,

Mike Kirby says the cast cranks last longer for him on the 250's.

He has tried custom forged cranks and they did not last as long.
They started cracking.
I here guys turning 8000, to 10,000 RPM with 250's w/stock cast cranks.

I think custom cranks here are $4000.00 - $5000.00.
Douglas, said they are about $1400.00,if I remember correct, maybe more?? Where he lives.

The cast crank will have less problem which is
right. The forged cranks Crack. And i have run mine as high as 8000 many times. I have also heard
Of the 292s doing the same 8-10,000. The thing to
help these motor crank them kinda rpms is to keep eventhing as light as you can.

Twisted6 I.I ,,,

have you ever broken a crank or connecting rod on your sixes?

I have tried to , but the dang things just stay together.
Guess I was not making enough power.

Here in Brazil it had a twin turbo 250 revving 8500, something like 900Hp on wheels and it used a cast crank. the owner says he never had a crank failure!

NOPE and Both are stockers.

Hi guys,

I've been listening and if anyone is interested, I have a nice forged crank that came out of a 1963 230 motor. It was used in a '39 Chevy truck that my friend raced at Great Lakes Dragway in the 70's.
It used 327 flattop pistons which I used to have but were sold. The crank is solid but was stored were it got some minor rust. It weighs about 40-50 lbs. I know this is not the classifieds, so I'll post it in the classifieds and see if there are any takers. I have all the casting #'s if you are interested.
Oh yeh I almost forgot to tell you, he ran consistant mid-12's with his truck. He had a homemade 2-4's manifold and header system and ran a muncie21 with 4:56 gears and had big custom cam he said. A very stout motor and I'll post a photo he gave me if I can locate it.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

Did they make a 230 engine in 1963??

The 230 was the base engine in the full size and pick-ups.

Did they make a 230 engine in 1963??

Yes they did. They came in the Imapla, Belair, Biscayne, and in their pickup trucks as their base 6 cylinder motor.
I have posted an ad in the classified for those who are interested.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

chopped 40,,,,

what year or years were the forged 230 cranks?

Thanks
MBHD

People!!

I went to the guys that makes the steel forged cranks yesterday.
Actually, the price of a forged crank here is about $1.780,00, stroker or stock.
They are very famous here, and in Europe. The guys here make a lot os cranks for "Eurospec" in Germany, and for Pauter Machine in USA.

BTW, if Mike and Larry says that it cracks more than the sotck, I´ll stay away of it!!!

I have heard(being the key word here) That the cast cranks are more forgiving Then a forged crank.and Last longger. I never personaly Used a forged crank. But I have NEVER had a issue with the stock cast cranks either.( @8000)

I know Twisted 6 well and he knows inline cranks!
He has tried them all and knows what works for his duece.
My 230 forgerd crank is still up for grabs if anyone is interested. Very reasonable.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

Rap I thought u said u had it in the classifieds?
I didn't see it. I was being nosey as to how much.
And honestly I haven't tried them all LOL Just never ran anything Other then the Stock crank. Ok so it may have been cut a little to clean everything up.

Twisted,

The time limit ran out on the ad. I re-posted it if anyone is interested! A good solid start to a strong bottom end on a street/strip motor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it will also fit the 250 and 292 blocks.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

It will fit all the blocks Just the stroke Plays a Very Big Part. the 230 has the same stroke as the 194.It will Destroke the 250& 292s.
Some of the 194s had forged cranks as well.

I also know the cranks Douglas was talking about. According to a guy I know who has been building race 250 for almost 20 years those works really fine.
Besides the forging thing they also developed a different type of lock system other than the woodruff key one, which is grooved like a steering axle system.

But never heard about any issue with the stock crank neither.

that's a great question in my and douglas project!!! should we go to a forjed crank?

Speaking of forged aftermarket cranks....
Do you guys have any pics you can post up?

MBHD

They have a web site, but I checked it, and it´s under construction...

http://www.sufran.com.br

Has anybody used to lighter 407N 250 cast cranks?

I have one, but not used yet.(For new engine)
Circle track guys love them.
Mike Kirby hears good things about them.

MBHD

re: 407N crank ??? What car/truck did they come in? Is the 407N part of the casting number. The crank in my 250 Mercruser had a different look than a 68 250 crank out of a pickup. It was full of balance drill holes and some holes had weld in them and it had notches in it. It had purple and white numbers wrote on it.Wish I had looked at casting number.That motor was pulled out of a low hour boat that was left in storage for years and was never rebuilt !!!Any ideas?? SCRAP

I believe they were used in the late 70's to 80's cars & trucks.
I weighed mine & it was 4-5 lbs ligheter than my older 1960's era cranks.
And ,yes, they do look different.
There are square sections of counter weights,??? gotta look at mine again to refresh my memory.

MBHD

They are totally different. The 407N is a cast number on the second counterweight i believe. All of the counter weights look smaller. Especially the fist one in the straight line of four weights that are in the middle. Its much smaller and also the one that is notched to clear the oil pump is alot smaller. I just got one and am putting it in now so ill see how it works.