My apologies to the OP and Jay for turning this thread into a s#*tshow. I'm done with it.
[/quote]

  Hey Doug,

  No worries here but thanks for the consideration. I deleted the thread at least once before deciding to go ahead and ask... it went as expected. lol  So far no responses to my emails and calls but I'm not in any huge rush.

 Someone along the way asked how much original stuff was on my engine in an attempt to prove a point. My builds differ from the popular stand points, with a full body passenger car my interest is an all original date matched build hiding as much punch as possible. If you're familiar with the extremes taken in pure stock racing with factory castings that's pretty much what we like in street/strip cars just without any class rules. My intent is an iron Hiriser built in this manor to run with some similar Hemi/409 cars around.

  Brent,
 
  To clarify Scat quality varies and seems to have much more issues than in the past so in my eyes it very much is the case. For a time I worked at a shop that was a Scat dealer (RAM in Clinton Ohio) and another friend is the head machinist at the local VW shop(LA products in Akron) which is also a Scat dealer so I still see issues here and there. Most of the time he points them out as I rib him for using Empi knock off parts he says he has found to have less (obvious) issues. Nothing is perfect but for my money I have long learned to buy the best I can afford at the time. Generally Scat is my go to and I won't even consider anything below them but I have gotten bad parts.  Summit is also right up the road and I'm probably there once a week at least where it's not uncommon at all to find a blem crank or set of rods on the discount table.

My billet 3.4 SBF Scat crank came in the old shop with an undrilled/unfinished flange and the wrong size key way in the wrong spot. More recently my purchase of a forged 4.25 FE Scat crank I was assured was the best off the shelf crank available resulted in a flaking slag covered piece neither Scat nor the vendor who couldn't be reached saw fit to address which had it to be shotpeened and rebalanced. The 4.25 cast crank another FE guy here got in his "kit" is riddled with porosity. In that I'm referring to every unmachined area has 3/16" air pockets that hopefully are limited to just the surface. You certainly don't see display pieces that look like that and in my case it is more than enough to look to other suppliers when possible. So yes any part can be flawed at any cost/level but with this in mind I'm not interested in buying another Scat FE crank or rods no matter how much power they can handle etc. I'm looking for nicer parts for this.

  Scott,
  I asked a simple question about availability of a nice US made set of rods. I'm not interested in dragging this into global economy politics. No matter how nice Molnar rods are in your opinion I don't want to spend my money on them. I have an old American car with an old American engine if for no other reason I consider it a touch cooler not to use China stuff to build it with.

 



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   From the wording on the website and previous posts about Molnar my understanding is that these are "finished in the USA" offshore parts. I've only seen a few of their offerings but those parts also looked like Scat pieces that were further detailed. I filed out a contact slip with Oliver just to see what they say but haven't found too much thumbing through various company listings. I'll make some calls Monday but wanted to see what might be known here.

 Thanks, Dan

 There isn't much meat there but maybe a thinwall countersunk flange blind insert set in green loctite? Most guys seem to be okay with just thread sealer but something more permanent would be one less worry.

 Most of those I've run into had random issues such as voids/paper thin areas in the bulkheads etc.  One I was real close on buying until flipping it over where it had a 2" area of waterjacket missing and  smeared closed with JB weld. I've also read that at least early blocks were machined from both ends resulting in cases where things were not straight/difficult to fix. It may be fine but it's a case by case basis so you'll want it checked out to be on the safe side.

   I've not bought the valvecovers but I have had several bumpers and misc. chrome parts. Most of the time I send them to have the chrome stripped first before modifying them but a few times I've just cut them up as is for mockup. In those cases I have found oil under the chrome and the rougher areas to be slag from using poor quality steel that is formed without being pickled first. Good quality steel stampings are smooth enough to chrome as delivered, it is repairs and stripped parts for rechroming that need to be buffed. Rechromed parts are buffed because the stripping process eats the surface of the steel in removing the chrome. Any remaining flaws can be taken out by building up copper and dressing it just like pitted potmetal. Generally though only in the case of a rough plate or the best of the best parts are they buffed at each step. Our friends in the far east are basically knocking off what slag they can and tossing parts in the tanks.

 I'm aware this is an old thread but looking at it and the other Survival complaint here I have to ask what good is this section if a person can not leave honest feedback?  I understand parts issues, impatient customers and the busy time of year in the auto industry being I run a custom chassis/sheetmetal shop. Look at all of the complaints on the old FE Ford forum, with such a number at least some of them have to be legitimate accounts.

 Jay, consider your contacts, your FE website, and from meeting you all of once I can't hear your name without thinking damn what a nice guy. Lol Barry would be an outright fool not to drop everything and fill your orders, us little guys not so much...

 For the record I like Barry and generally think he intends to do the right thing by people. Fact is he needs to be more realistic in the work he takes in and the promises he makes to customers.  I am a Survival customer and have had good and bad dealings with him just like any other person. Anyone interested I'd glad to share what Mr EMC sent me for $3k and just as fairly all my good experiences. That is the whole point of feedback, so next guy can make his choice and hopefully for the seller to improve his efforts. Fact is that good rep guy can still have a bad day or be too busy to send the quality you were willing to pay for. Somethings are a misunderstanding between two parties,  some not so much. Either way actual customers should be able to post a bad experience without friendships or a guy's hero status on the forum clouding that.

 Dan Adams Akron/Louisville Ohio, 32bantam/HvyFt4spd