Wow, someone’s Cheerios got peed in this morning.
We all know you got a bone to pick with Scat, Rory but not sure why you decided to show your hindend today. Rough day?
Not at all, nothing personal against SCAT, I do have a set of their FE rods, just curious why they would make a crank for a FE, and decide to change something that has never been an issue. And if they do not supply the crank key(s), and instructions pointing out the change, why not? I just used the crank as an example that sometimes aftermarket parts need a bit of attention to work, and I really didn`t consider the task of slotting 3 holes and grinding a timing pointer, with tools everybody has in their toolbox, a big deal. At least it doesn`t require an expensive milling machine, as in the case of the TFS head rocker stands, which you consider to be perfectly acceptable.
Yes, TFS heads require stand modifications, and it varies depending on what rocker you use. Some guys have bolted on off-the-shelf Harland Sharp adjustable rockers and didn't have to touch anything. I haven't used that rocker set yet on them, so I can't vouch for that. But the point is, if there was another identical head that performed the same and had the same quality, that didn't need stand modifications, then maybe I would choose that one. For 99% of the FE's built on this forum, a Powerbond, a Romac, or an IW balancer would work just fine, are cheaper, and don't require any reworking, other than shooting another coat of clear on the Romac if you choose to. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I'm not totally convinced an ATI is any more special than those. I've always held them a little higher esteemed based on what I've seen other guys say, but I've had Powerbond and Romac on some pretty high end/high rpm FE's and have never had a problem. Edited my post to agree that I would never put a Rattler or Fluidampr on anything.
The aftermarket isn't really that special. Factory parts aren't any better. My 352's C6AE-R heads were off 2-3cc from head to head on chamber volume. Factory blocks are sometimes off .020" on deck height from side to side and end to end. Takes some pretty expensive equipment to fix that, can't do it with hand tools.
As for the crank keys, still not seeing what all the fuss is about. I have a parts box mounted to my wall. When a factory crank comes in, I reach for one little drawer and get a key. When a Scat crank comes out of the box, I just open up the other little drawer and grab another key. Do I need an instruction sheet for that?
Forbid that someone gets one that uses BBC rods and sits there all puzzled trying to make an FE rod bearing fit on the journal because they didn't have an instruction sheet. Sounds like your buddy was a bit ham-fisted and shouldn't be around engine parts. If the balancer/spacer is going on hard enough to split it, maybe a little bit of experience should have set a signal off in his mind.