Well it seems I've had another epiphany... Dodge small block and V10 rod journal diameters are 2.125". The bottom end is unhappy in the first place and the crank will likely need grinding. Small block Chevy rod journal diameters are 2.100". So a simple .025" grind on the crank will allow me to run Chevy rods. Which means there are off the shelf lengths of 6.200", 6.250", & 6.300" readily available in forged H-beam sets of 8 for around $600. So at that rate, coupled with available claimer pistons, I should be able to raise compression, and strengthen the rotating assembly for less than the $1100 I was considering spending on custom pistons.

 

The chevy rods sound like a great way to go and save money for other areas of the project. How much compression are you thinking?

 

There aren't higher compression pistons available for the stock rod v-10?

 

With a 1.612"stock compression height at .067" below deck the pin is set pretty low as is. Chevy claimer pistons are so affordable it's not really worth messing with anything out there for the V10 since I don't like the lack of rod ratio and want longer rods anyway. I'm gonna shoot for 10.5-11:1 on E85, so that's likely really close to zero deck or 1.679" compression height... If I can get another .127" of rod length in there to get compression height down I'm gonna jump on it. Which is about perfect for a standard 1.565" claimer piston and actually puts me at .013" protrusion on paper. I really need to get the engine out and tore down so I can confirm compression distance and piston recession on the stock engine as well as combustion chamber volume and compressed head gasket thickness.

 

I'm really looking forward to where you're going with this.

 

The piston is that far down in the hole stock? Holy smokes batman. Seems that would make the engine rather prone to spark knock....

I can see where you are going with that, and tend to agree with you. Makes good sense. What about rod journal width? How much difference is there between the SBC, and the V-10 rods on the bottom ends?

 

Gotta take about .013" off each side of each rod, so not too bad.

 

I don't know squat about the V-10 and really only know stuff from looking at Vipers and the SRT-10 trucks. I have seen some performance stuff for them so is there a chance any of their stuff would work for you?

 

Viper V-10's are an entirely different animal than the truck motors. Almost none of the parts will interchange. Now, grabbing a viper motor, and stuffing it into a truck? That would be interesting.

 

Right, kinda sucks too because a viper manifold would be ****... The kind of money I would have tied up in just a stock viper v10 would likely fund this whole build to get close to 700hp. Honestly I don't see a problem with making good power, my worry is whether the crank will hold it or not. Which is kind of why I'm leaning towards E85 with it's lower peak cylinder pressures and slower burn it will be easier on the bottom end.