so, I'm back into my 327 that is going back into the Regal project, and need opinions on bearing brand.
back story on the little engine that hasn't:
originally sourced this out of a 68 chevy truck my buddy traded me, and the thing scared me badly enough, that I took the motor out and dropped it in the Regal, where the worn out slushmatic and restrictive exhaust pretty much killed it's pep. It had an oil pressure issue that eventually led me to wiped out cam bearings/ rear main bearing and #7 & 8 rod bearings... new cam bearings, attempted to clean up the crank (polished up with emery cloth) and thought was good enough, and threw new bearings on the crank. ran the engine long enough to break in the new cam, and a just firing it up from time to time to move it around the driveway, and then sat for a couple years due a oil pan & gasket issue.. fast forward a to earlier this year, where I finally bit the bullet and got a new oil pan and one piece gasket, and figured I'd check the crank bearings (the oil gap was at right at the maximum tolerance when I put it together) because after buttoning up up, I never felt right about them. turns out my feelings were right ant there was some scoring on the surfaces. I wanted to do the right thing, so off to the machine shop it went, just to find out they would've had to machine it to .040 over, and on a small journal crank, both the machinist and I were both not comfortable doing... I searched for a few months (even had a thread in here asking about 283 crank and 302 pistons), and was about to just pull the trigger on a fleabay crank totalingup to about $500 and still needing machining, when I figured I'd do one last search on marketplace & CL. I ended up finding one about 120 miles away, that the guy had just machined, and while his block was being machined, they'd found a crack just off the front corner by the stampings. he was only asking enough to cover the machining costs, and I was able to come away for $160 with a .010 main/.020 rod small journal crank. def feels like I stole this thing. he hadn't bought bearings for it, so this is where I need your help.
He and I were talking, and I had planned to go with clevite bearings, and he told me his machinist had been getting alot of negative feedback over the last couple years on them. I've always used sealed power, and was going with the clevite on advice from one of my scca buddies, but he admittedly hasn't built an engine up for anyone for several years now. the guy I got the crank from said his machinist was recommending KING bearings, but couldn't remember the part # for the small journal. I've checked their website, but they seem to list the bearings in with the large journal stuff, and I can't seem to be able to nail down #'s on jegs or summit.
have any of you had any dealings with some bad clevites, good/bad with king, or have another brand you'd recommend highly? the block is a '64 that's been bored .040, high volume oil pump, and mild cam (only around .488 lift with 270/282 duration IIRC). I don't plan on drag racing it, and would like to take it to a road course a time or two in the future, and will be backing a wc t-5 trans/3.42 7.5 rear.
any help you guys can give, or advice towards a certain brand, is always appreciated. I know that there's a wealth of knowledge in here, and I've been out of the parts game too long now to really trust myself, or know what's good/bad anymore. thanks in advance!
Darin
back story on the little engine that hasn't:
originally sourced this out of a 68 chevy truck my buddy traded me, and the thing scared me badly enough, that I took the motor out and dropped it in the Regal, where the worn out slushmatic and restrictive exhaust pretty much killed it's pep. It had an oil pressure issue that eventually led me to wiped out cam bearings/ rear main bearing and #7 & 8 rod bearings... new cam bearings, attempted to clean up the crank (polished up with emery cloth) and thought was good enough, and threw new bearings on the crank. ran the engine long enough to break in the new cam, and a just firing it up from time to time to move it around the driveway, and then sat for a couple years due a oil pan & gasket issue.. fast forward a to earlier this year, where I finally bit the bullet and got a new oil pan and one piece gasket, and figured I'd check the crank bearings (the oil gap was at right at the maximum tolerance when I put it together) because after buttoning up up, I never felt right about them. turns out my feelings were right ant there was some scoring on the surfaces. I wanted to do the right thing, so off to the machine shop it went, just to find out they would've had to machine it to .040 over, and on a small journal crank, both the machinist and I were both not comfortable doing... I searched for a few months (even had a thread in here asking about 283 crank and 302 pistons), and was about to just pull the trigger on a fleabay crank totalingup to about $500 and still needing machining, when I figured I'd do one last search on marketplace & CL. I ended up finding one about 120 miles away, that the guy had just machined, and while his block was being machined, they'd found a crack just off the front corner by the stampings. he was only asking enough to cover the machining costs, and I was able to come away for $160 with a .010 main/.020 rod small journal crank. def feels like I stole this thing. he hadn't bought bearings for it, so this is where I need your help.
He and I were talking, and I had planned to go with clevite bearings, and he told me his machinist had been getting alot of negative feedback over the last couple years on them. I've always used sealed power, and was going with the clevite on advice from one of my scca buddies, but he admittedly hasn't built an engine up for anyone for several years now. the guy I got the crank from said his machinist was recommending KING bearings, but couldn't remember the part # for the small journal. I've checked their website, but they seem to list the bearings in with the large journal stuff, and I can't seem to be able to nail down #'s on jegs or summit.
have any of you had any dealings with some bad clevites, good/bad with king, or have another brand you'd recommend highly? the block is a '64 that's been bored .040, high volume oil pump, and mild cam (only around .488 lift with 270/282 duration IIRC). I don't plan on drag racing it, and would like to take it to a road course a time or two in the future, and will be backing a wc t-5 trans/3.42 7.5 rear.
any help you guys can give, or advice towards a certain brand, is always appreciated. I know that there's a wealth of knowledge in here, and I've been out of the parts game too long now to really trust myself, or know what's good/bad anymore. thanks in advance!
Darin