[Steve C.]

Damn, found out yesterday that my Crower billet crankshaft has a crack in the #4 journal.

Found this after tearing down my 450ci motor in preparation of putting all the parts onto a I.A. II block for next season. We are changing to the I.A. block so that we can run additional nitrous to the combination...we knew we were at the limit with the factory block and the estamated 1000 hp we were pushing it to. Everything else inside the engine appears to be fine with no indication of problems.

The crank is on it's way to Mile High Crankshaft in Colorado for further evaluation and possible repar.

If it cannot be repaired I will need a new billet crank. With that in mind what companies out there, in addition to Crower, make a custom 4.125" stroke billet crankshaft for Pontiac ? And any idea of the current lead time involved to make it.

Any possible sources and input is appreciated.

[Steve C.]

Damn, found out yesterday that my Crower billet crankshaft has a crack in the #4 journal.

Found this after tearing down my 450ci motor in preparation of putting all the parts onto a I.A. II block for next season. We are changing to the I.A. block so that we can run additional nitrous to the combination...we knew we were at the limit with the factory block and the estamated 1000 hp we were pushing it to. Everything else inside the engine appears to be fine with no indication of problems.

The crank is on it's way to Mile High Crankshaft in Colorado for further evaluation and possible repar.

If it cannot be repaired I will need a new billet crank. With that in mind what companies out there, in addition to Crower, make a custom 4.125" stroke billet crankshaft for Pontiac ? And any idea of the current lead time involved to make it.

Any possible sources and input is appreciated.

[Larry Navarro]

Crack in a Crower billet?
Interested in the evaluation myself Steve.
Keep us posted.

[tom s]

Steve,Valesco make billets.Tom

[Steve C.]

Tom- know any contacts there that might be helpfull regarding delivery time ?

Larry- this piticular crank has had some abuse and previous repairs over the years, It was made in Jan '99. In spring '03 we spun 2 rod bearings, sent it out to Mile High Crank (they do great billet repairs). It was welded and brought to standard on the rods and polished. Then last year at the PSN races we damaged the thrust surface due to trans/converter issues. This damage was repaired locally, cleaned up the thrust surface best we could and turned the mains 10 and polished it. The thrust end play ended up at .010".
Since then I guess the motor has had about 50 passes on it with the "300HP" nitrous tune-up. These last fifty passes or so have been the hardest on the motor, all previous nitrous use was very limited. Last monday when we tore the motor apart the thrust end only increased to .011", but we found the main journal crack. The rod journals look fine.

[Brian Baker]

Valasco, Bryant, Moldex.

I think Tom Vaught has some contacts at Moldex.

[rumair]

you should get in touch with tom, he does have contacts at moldex.

[Tom Vaught]

Steve,

I can get what you want made.

It would take about 8-10 weeks to deliver.

I would need to get the specs on what crank you would want and the options you would want.

I am having one made for Tom McQueen at Moldex
(Billet) at the present time.

Let me know.

Tom V.

[Steve C.]

Thanks Tom for the offer, that's good news !

From conversation with Mile High Crank I get the impression that it might be the first two weeks in January before I get any news. Like many of the shops they close down over the Christmas holidays. I know Crower is closed already for the holiday season. I'll just have to wait untill then.
I remember we ordered a "lightweight" billet but would have to dig up details. I know it ended up being 70 pounds! It's a 3-inch main, 4.125 stroke with BBC rod journals.

[Tom Vaught]

Moldex builds cranks in that config all the time.

The lightning holes in the rod journals is common, the stroke is common for a typical billet blank,
(no special ordering of steel), and thining the counter weights, etc would be possible if they had your bob weight.

Let me know.

Tom V.

[tom s]

Steve,just call and ask for Henry.Small shop,does a LOT of fueler cranks.I have talked to him many times about pontiac cranks.He did some work on my short deck crank.Tom

[Brian Baker]

Misus called Velasco today, spoke to Henry himself.

$2800 for a Pontiac billet made to your custom specs.

[Steve C.]

In contrast, in '99 I paid either $2300 or $2400 for the Crower billet, don't remember for sure.

[Brian Baker]

I need to add these were to Misus' specs. He said he got a quote from Moldex of $2050 for the same piece. Bryant can begin availability after 2/1/2005 for $2500.

[Steve Barcak]

Steve,
Most all billets can be repaired. If you choose to replace it, let me know, I may be interested in buying the damaged one. As for Repair, I had a good reference from a fellow top fuel owner to repair billets right in your state and he did a good job for me. Look up-
Flanakin Crankshaft Specialties
6121 Pinemont
Houston, Tx, 77092
Ask for Lance.
Good luck and it would be nice to have you come back to Az in April.
Steve www.pontiacheaven.org

[Larry Navarro]

Yeah Steve, Flanakin is right down the street from where Lloyd had his engine built.
Been in business for years and has a top reputation.

[Steve C.]

Thanks for the heads up on Flanakin for a repair source, heard of them before.
Also got a e-mail suggesting Marine Crankshaft in California for a repair source as they reportably serve Top Fuel teams.
But I already sent it via FedEx to Mile High Crank in Colorado. As mentioned they previously repaired this crank before, they have a good reputation for billet repairs as well (recommendation from Crower).
Sure don't want additional cost to this project but for me it's the time involved. The next season starts March 12th for FSTA.

http://www.factoryStreet.com

Stock suspension/true 10.5's, need to run at least 5.40's in the 1/8 mile.

[GREATGTO]

I ORDERED A MOLDEX 4.750 STROKE CRANK, IT TAKES 8 TO 12 WEEKS TO GET IT, ANYTHING UNDER A 4.50 STROKE MAY BE A SHORTER TIME FRAME

[69GPModJ]

Wow! 4.75" stroke. What's it going into?

[Skip Fix]

Flanakin does most of the crank work for the machine shops around town here. Has done all of mine including turning down counter weights for my aluminum rod motor.