Probe (CHP) vs. Eagle vs. Scat vs. ?

Has anyone done an apples to apples or close facsimilie thereof of each of these kits (347) against the others for price, quality control, specifications, performance, ease of installation and kit requirements/drawbacks? Does anyone know of a reputable source for finding this information? I am looking for a direct comparison with hard data and not just opinions (hang onto those for now, please).

I can tell you if you get anything from Probe/CHP that you'll be wasting your $$$. Long story & most of us have been there.
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The Eagle 501 kit I just bought for my 64 Fairlane looks pretty good. I came with SRP forged 30 over pistions, JE moly rings, Clevite77 rod, main and cam bearings, Eagle ESP 6.800 rods and the Eagle 4.14 cast steel crank. The cost was 1499 delivered from http://www.raceparts2000.com

Except for the crank, the other items I have used in other motors with good results.

I would think that the Scat and Eagle are the smae except for being in different boxes. Just my thoughts only.

I have heard too many bad stories about the Probe kits and pistons.
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What is the deal with Probe products? Do they make weak parts or something?

Never mind. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: bluestreek on 11/27/02 9:59am ]</font>

There's a LOT wrong there. They can't build a part to your specifications even if you explain it like they're 10 years old. They promise the world &amp; deliver nothing close. They use sub-standard parts, blems, rejects... They will tell you they know about something &amp; they don't. I have been forced to run a puny .640 lift cam because of their lies, be afraid, be VERY afraid. Quality sucks too!
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I am surprised at the fact that there is not a "Stroker Magazine" of some description out there. The interest especially among Ford 302/351 owners seems to be relatively high. Although there may be a limited number of actual crank and rod manufacturers out there, this aspect of hot rodding has the feel of being a dynamic process that is not static.

In addition to what you have posted, here is some of the information I have gathered so far...

The Eagle and Scat kits seem to be one and the same. I called a local machine shop and he told me that the only difference he could tell was the Eagle kit "appears" to have a little better finishing work done to it as compared to the Scat kit.

The Probe 347 piston appears to be the only one that I can tell from pictures thus far that does not have the oil ring intersecting the piston pin and consequently uses a shorter rod to make up for the piston pin position. I will gladly stand corrected if anyone has more accurate information on other 347 stroker piston options. For what its worth, most kits that I have seen don't give you a good shot of the side of the piston to show you this characteristic. It seems as if the KB hyper pistons have the pin overlapping the oil ring.

From a practical standpoint, I would like to hear from anyone who has used a kit that contained piston pins that intersected the oil rings to see if you have a real "smoker" or not on your hands. This would weigh heavily on the decision making process.

Another thought is if a run of the mill cast crank/hyper piston 347 combo kit with no girdle in a street engine revving 6000 to 6500 is a possibility. Long term, can they be run reliably under these circumstances? Is there a lot of hype about the girdles.

I appreciate the personal views of those who have actually constructed the kit (and I mean "hands on" all the way). I violated my own rule and have my a$$ hung out there from the "pictures" but would give thanks those who have fondled the kits and even more so to those who have assembled them to write in.

Other than discussion of a manufacturers quality control, it would be great if the imput here could be limited to the 347 kits.

Thanks again.

I put a eagle 347 kit together and didn't have any problems with it smokeing, it may have used a little more oil than a 302 would but nothing I would think is excessive or bad, then again this kit also had the 4340 crank and H beams with the SRP pistons. everything I have heard say stay away from the shorter rod used by CHP, with the oil ring support oil control isn't really a problem like everyone makes it out to be

The JE pistons for the 557 I had had the oil rings intersection the pin. They included oil ring support rails and never had a problem with smoking or oil usage.
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Lordviper13, where did you purchase your kit and how much was it? Are you running your 347 on the street and is there anything special you had to do to the lower end of the block besides clearancing the rods?

Does anyone know if you run i-beam vs. h-beam rods if you side step the clearancing problem in the 347 kit?

Also, can anyone tell me if an old style windage tray interferes with the crank throws or rods in the 347 kit?