The cast vs Chinese forged rods debate will likely continue as long as most of that care about Pontiac V-8's are alive. From an engine machinist view, this is what I have experienced. A set of 50+ year old stock cast Pontiac connecting rods will work just fine and not fail if PROPERLY rebuilt with new ARP or SPS connecting rod bolts. I would only use stock rods that don't show any signs of overheating, (black/blue color) or a spun bearing. Also black or blue small ends that would indicate overheating when the pins were installed. A matched set from an old B body engine or a 2 BBL. engine are usually best because they generally haven't had the crap run out of them.
Now, as far as Eagle forged rods or other cheap aftermarket forged rods. They have different issues. No doubt in my mind at least, they are far better material and stronger than the factory Pontiac stuff. BUT, the machining is inconsistent, and unpredictable, period. They MUST be inspected and corrected before use. Buying a set of Eagle rods, taking them out of the box and installing them is NO better than taking a set of rods out of an old junk Pontiac and installing them without inspection/rebuilding them. The results are exactly the same, a failed engine. As I have stated many times, Eagle connecting rods are MUCH better than they were 15 years ago. Back then, 50% of them had to be rebuilt before use. Didn't matter what engine they were designed for. Now the failure rate is 7-10% after 15 years of improvement. I don't mean 7-10% of the engines fail, just 7-10% of them fall outside the factory tolerance for taper, out of round, pin bore specs., or width.
Bottom line is every connecting rod, no matter where it comes from needs to be checked for all it's dimensions no matter what the end use. A quality engine builder like Len Williams surely does this because his reputation depends on the connecting rods staying inside the engine where they belong. Good luck with your build.
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