I'm building my own 306 using a dss piston kit that comes with arp rod bolts. I called my local machine shop and he said he will change the rod bolts but it is not necessary to refresh the big end of the rod. My concern was that most on here DO recommend doing so.
He says he builds engines himself and would just replace the bolts. Should I take the machine shops word on this one?

 

If you are a careful engine builder you will find another machinist. If I were changing rod bolts, I personally would not consider it without resizing the big end. If the machinist is proposing that you NOT do this, either he doesn't have the equipment to do it himself, or he is willing to do things half a$$ed.

If he just doesn't have a rod sizing machine and is good at doing the work that he DOES have equipment for, then maybe he's worth going to for THAT work, but find someone that has good rod resizing equipment and knows how to use it, OR don't change the rod bolts. I personally would not slam the rods back into an engine without their having proper attention unless it was just going in Grandma's old car that she uses for getting groceries and hauling herself to Church.

If you're taking time to build this engine, do yourself a favor and do it right.

 

I would have the rods resized also my machinist would not install bolts unless they were resized on the big end. but by the time you pay some one to do this work and you buy good rod bolts have you looked into a Eagle rod or Scat there cheap rods are better then the stock rods with good bolts or talk with DSS and see if they can upgrade you to a better rod for not much more then the cost of the bolts and the $ to have them resized. I know that most of the time the stock rods will out last the stock block as far as HP( been there done that) but a better rod is still wise.

 

uedlose brings up a very valid point. Even a thrifty priced machine shop and the bolts will run the bill up somewhere in the neighborhood of some decent aftermarket rods.

The rod is BY FAR the most highly stressed component in an engine and if it comes apart it will take most everything with it. uedlose suggestion is something I think you should give LOTS of consideration.

 

dont scat and eagle suggest having their rods machined as well?

 

I expect that they do, but surely they mean at rebuild time, not when you first supply them. If that's the case then the are selling cores or castings, not connecting rods ready for service.