Bob,
IF you are going to reuse the stock rods, have both the rods AND the crank
Magnafluxed. Nodular cranks can develop small stress cracks in the radius
on the rod and main journals. Make sure you use a COMPETENT machinist
who is familiar with Pontiacs. The tricks used on small-block Chevys sometimes won't work on Pontiacs. Also,if your budget allows, remove the
parting line from the rod beams and polish. Have the rods shot-peened afterwards. I used CompCams HE260 cam in the 400 in my '72 GP. They(CompCams) still sell this grind. It's pretty civilized,but definitely gives a boost in low to mid-range torque and HP. Back to the rods, alot of guys here
will tell you to replace them. If you have the money, I would be sure to look
into PPR's I-beam rods. Thy're reasonably affordable($395 a set). The heads
I would use would be 6X-4s milled to 85cc. With a 0 deck clearance and .039
head gasket you should be about 9.3-9.5:1 on the CR.
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