Topic: RC Golden Rods

[754]

 Maybe we need "The rest of the Story"

          100% BILLET ALLOY RODS
           "THE GOLDEN ROD"

 750 HONDA RODS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A WEAK LINK IN AN OTHERWISE RELIABLE MOTOR AND HAVE PLAGUED MANY ENGINE BUILDERS THE WORLD OVER.

 Since 1969 we have been involved in heat-treating, shot peening, boxing, welding etc. and have always had the strongest rods of the period. We have changed design, material, machine process,heat-treating techniques etc.  as often as was necessary or possible.

 Through the years we have learned a lot about rods, their weaknesses, their failures, and their needs for survival. Through our extensive reasearch and development program, and our far reaching racing program we have come up with the ultimate con rod for street, strip, track or what have you. We have spent more time and money on these rods than any product we have produced.

 We started with forged alloys and found them to be too inconsistent in strenth and reliability for our requirements At first they appeared to be satisfactory for some of the milder 900cc, etc. motors, but they would not retain their strength for any length of time and were subject to stress corrosion rather rapidly. This is a serious problem with all forged alloy rods, and hence the "not for street use" instructions most manufacturers include with their units. Most race car engine builders replace their forged alloy rods after only 40 or 50 runs because they know a forged rod is subject to this stress corrosion problem.

 After numerous testing sessions and conferences with alloy manufacturers, metallurgists and forging houses, we came to this conclusion...

     A forging is cheaper and faster to produce in mass quantities than a billet part.

     A billet part is stronger and more uniform in strength than a forging.

     A billet part is expensive to manufacture, but the finished unit is the most excellent product of its kind.

 We are proud to put our name on these rods and feel sure that you will be proud to have them in your engine.


           "THE GOLDEN ROD"

 The ultimate in connecting rods for the 750 Honda. Machined from a specially-alloyed and heat-treated space age alloy, they have been designed to withstand the most severe stress loads possible.

 The  unique H-beam design is used in lieu of older I-beam type common to forgings or castings. The big ends are serrated and fitted with bearing lock pins that are held in place with special Grade Eight aircraft bolts made exclisively for R.C.  The finished product is heat-treated, shot-peened, and anodized Gold to provide you with the finest conecting rod available.

 PART  # 1100    GOLDEN ROD

 PART  # 1300    1/4 STROKER GOLDEN ROD






 

[Ricky_Racer]

754... I'm not gonna have a "rest of the story" until I can get them all off the crank and checked for match and perfect alignment. Then we'll all know the "rest of the story"...  like whether or not they're gonna end up in a kick-ass blower motor or not.  

But not to worry; you'll be the second to know!      RR

[BLUE71TURBO]

1) This may sound like it's from a Goldenrod newby, and it is... IF a set of Goldenrods is mounted on a CB750 crank, BUT it looks like the rods appear to be only slightly used, is it safe to remove the bolts without expecting to have to replace them?

2) Where do I get a socket to fit these suckers???

Thanks to all you Goldenrod Pros!     RR

Another showoff 

                                            

             Hey RR, these are not mine.     I found the picture and thought i'd share it.   

[BLUE71TURBO]

754... I'm not gonna have a "rest of the story" until I can get them all off the crank and checked for match and perfect alignment. Then we'll all know the "rest of the story"...  like whether or not they're gonna end up in a kick-ass blower motor or not. 

But not to worry; you'll be the second to know! That is, unless you let cats out of bags...      RR


  How about a Hilborn injected engine ?   

                       

[Doctor_D]

And Doctor_D, thanks for the info. I shoulda checked first but didn't think about checking out my 12-point sockets since I try to never use them.     RR

My pleasure.

Embarrassing as it is to admit, upon buying my first set of aftermarket rods I actually called Carrillo to get that information.  The tech barely concealed his conceit as he informed me that the "special socket" I was looking for was a 3/8" 12 point.

[Ricky_Racer]

Thanks again, Doctor. The forty-year old Craftsman 3/8-12 worked perfectly. They sure don't make sockets as thin as they used to, and side clearance was really tight!

But, after pulling and checking them, it looks like I've got a very usable set of G-rods. Maybe I can finally get a good night's rest. Yeah, Baby!!!

Now if I can just sell that kidney, I may be able to afford to use the rods on a motor...    RR

PS: BT, running the Hilborn on the street like a Top Fueler would be absolutely dyno-mite, except that I've already pushed the limits of human sanity and going any further totally scares me. "The truth is waaaaay out there!"

  

[MRieck]

Maybe we need "The rest of the Story"

          100% BILLET ALLOY RODS
           "THE GOLDEN ROD"

 750 HONDA RODS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A WEAK LINK IN AN OTHERWISE RELIABLE MOTOR AND HAVE PLAGUED MANY ENGINE BUILDERS THE WORLD OVER.

 Since 1969 we have been involved in heat-treating, shot peening, boxing, welding etc. and have always had the strongest rods of the period. We have changed design, material, machine process,heat-treating techniques etc.  as often as was necessary or possible.

 Through the years we have learned a lot about rods, their weaknesses, their failures, and their needs for survival. Through our extensive reasearch and development program, and our far reaching racing program we have come up with the ultimate con rod for street, strip, track or what have you. We have spent more time and money on these rods than any product we have produced.

 We started with forged alloys and found them to be too inconsistent in strenth and reliability for our requirements At first they appeared to be satisfactory for some of the milder 900cc, etc. motors, but they would not retain their strength for any length of time and were subject to stress corrosion rather rapidly. This is a serious problem with all forged alloy rods, and hence the "not for street use" instructions most manufacturers include with their units. Most race car engine builders replace their forged alloy rods after only 40 or 50 runs because they know a forged rod is subject to this stress corrosion problem.

 After numerous testing sessions and conferences with alloy manufacturers, metallurgists and forging houses, we came to this conclusion...

     A forging is cheaper and faster to produce in mass quantities than a billet part.

     A billet part is stronger and more uniform in strength than a forging.

     A billet part is expensive to manufacture, but the finished unit is the most excellent product of its kind.

 We are proud to put our name on these rods and feel sure that you will be proud to have them in your engine.


           "THE GOLDEN ROD"

 The ultimate in connecting rods for the 750 Honda. Machined from a specially-alloyed and heat-treated space age alloy, they have been designed to withstand the most severe stress loads possible.

 The  unique H-beam design is used in lieu of older I-beam type common to forgings or castings. The big ends are serrated and fitted with bearing lock pins that are held in place with special Grade Eight aircraft bolts made exclisively for R.C.  The finished product is heat-treated, shot-peened, and anodized Gold to provide you with the finest conecting rod available.

 PART  # 1100    GOLDEN ROD

 PART  # 1300    1/4 STROKER GOLDEN ROD
 

 Frank
 That is the RC storyline. They would have said use Carrillo's if they were not selling their own stuff....period. Carrillo was making 750 rods back then too. Do you actually think a "Golden Rod" is a strong as a Carrillo? Personally that RC rod is a product of emerging CNC....it isn't hand made and it was cheap to make. That stuff is old , old and.....old. It doesn't get better with age.
 A Carrillo is the best rod out there in general. Jay is right....billet is a forged blank. 60...70 etc whatever the series.
 I don't like the side thrust on those and I hope the small end "wear" is for balancing.
  Mike

[Ricky_Racer]

Agreed about the Carillos, but either is better than the stock, unmodified rods and the Golden Rods are just so period and sooo purty!  

Oh, and they don't weigh nuttin', Honey...   RR

[754]

I did not make any claims.. or guarantees..

 Given a choice I would take the golden rods over Superrods (yoshi).

 If its good enough for fuel, I doubt I can break them.. normally aspirated with pump gas.

 Idont know if they are made on NC equipment.. fairly easy to make on any mill.. IF you select the right alloy.

 When folks start making more HP with the NEW stuff, I will start worrying about using "Better" stuff

[MRieck]

Agreed about the Carillos, but either is better than the stock, unmodified rods and the Golden Rods are just so period and sooo purty!  

Oh, and they don't weigh nuttin', Honey...    RR

As an aside...The stock rod itself isn't that bad IMO. The bolts suck. The problem with stock rods starts when you hang a heavy piston on it. New 836 pistons are lighter than the OEM pieces.....and could be even lighter if they came with short tapered pins and shorter skirts. Somebody should send an OEM bolt to ARP and see if they can match or make something. You wouldn't need to machine the bolt holes if you are using 2000 series etc. I know Jay used to sell ARP bolts for FJ1200's and ZX11's
Frank...this one is for you....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130391756013&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

[NitroHunter]

That big end side thrust wear seems to appear on all those golden rods... 
An FYI per some old RC GoldenRod notes, when you torque up the bolts, use spacer shims on both sides of the rod to keep it from shifting under the cap. Yes it tries to move slightly and you can feel the uneven parting line edge if it does.

Good modern aluminum rods use locator pins in addition to the cerrations, so the cap always goes on true.
It also then becomes (well pretty much) oily-glasses proof; it's very hard for the bottom end diver to get #7 cap onto #8 rod during between-rounds service... 

I rode a very lightweight Hilborne alcohol injected SOHC D&K framed dragster once. Lite crank, golden rods, mega compression, big cam. INSTANT revs! Don't know it would be a great street ride but getting onto the freeway onramp would be a blast.

[MRieck]

That big end side thrust wear seems to appear on all those golden rods... 
An FYI per some old RC GoldenRod notes, when you torque up the bolts, use spacer shims on both sides of the rod to keep it from shifting under the cap. Yes it tries to move slightly and you can feel the uneven parting line edge if it does.

Good modern aluminum rods use locator pins in addition to the cerrations, so the cap always goes on true.
It also then becomes (well pretty much) oily-glasses proof; it's very hard for the bottom end diver to get #7 cap onto #8 rod during between-rounds service... 

I rode a very lightweight Hilborne alcohol injected SOHC D&K framed dragster once. Lite crank, golden rods, mega compression, big cam. INSTANT revs! Don't know it would be a great street ride but getting onto the freeway onramp would be a blast.

I do that no matter what rod I'm using. Larger torque #'s put a lot of twist in the big end which start to crush parts of the bearing. Falicon recommends it for their rods.....it just good practice.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

How about explaining spacer shims and how this is done?

[Ricky_Racer]

Thanks for posting the question, Jerry. I thought maybe I was the only one who hadn't heard of these or how they were installed...  RR

[Big Jay]

I know the guy that made the golden rods. He cut them out of plate stock because that was way cheaper than having a forging die made.

Back in the day, we installed a lot of them as well as the MC japanese forged rods. Both had the bearing locater pins. We just took an old rod cap and drilled a hole in it dead center, and used it as a drill jig to drill the bearings.

If those rods have a 3/8 12 pt head, they are probably 5/16 thread. If so, we can hook you up with new bolts.

[Ricky_Racer]

Thanks, Jay. Good to know; my G-rod bolts have the 12pt 3/8 heads. Talk with you soon about that and some other things.

I'm just getting into dismantling/inspecting an early (K1 case) sidehack CB750 motor. So far, it seems to have really nice porting, a serious Yoshimura(?) cam, HD springs/retainers, and a Yoshimura geared cam chain tensioner. I'm not sure what rods/pistons/crank mods the bottom end has, but the condition seems pretty fresh. Guess I'll find out soon enough about the lower parts. Nothing is going to surprise me about this old powerplant.

Thanks again for the info on the rod bolts. RR

[cavebear]

Received my rods from Germany this week First thing I did was weigh them without bearings or bolts.
 Rod#1 236.8 gm Rod#2 237.1 gm Rod#3 237.5 gm Rod#4 236.9 gm.

Surprise number one. main bearing bolts are hex head which thread all the way into the endcap.

Questions for those who have run these rods.

1) Does the side play wear on the mains appear normal?


2) It looks like the curved edge of the webbing contacted the bottoms of the cylinder sleeves?




3)It looks like balancing was done by taking weight off the small rod end? But rod no 2 has material taken off both webs on the upper end.



Thoughts and comments appreciated.

[scottly]

Normally rods are balanced at each end, as well as total weight. The marks at the big end may also be from balancing. I would definitely verify clearance when you assemble the motor, though.

[cavebear]

I took measurements  on the hex head rod bolts and they came out to 1/4-24.
Does the sound right?

[scottly]

There are SAE 1/4-20, and 1/4-28; I've never heard of a 1/4-24. Either one sounds pretty puny for a rod bolt.

[cavebear]

Measured them again. They are 5/16 by 24

[scottly]

Measured them again. They are 5/16 by 24

Sounds much better.

[cavebear]

I'm looking at the photos of my rods and those nos in the bag. Either i have fakes or they made a change to the design.My rods are almost flat across the bottom and the ones in the bag have a noticeable three way flat taper at the main end.

[Big Jay]

Measured them again. They are 5/16 by 24

That's better. What is the length under the dead?

[BLUE71TURBO]

Measured them again. They are 5/16 by 24

That's better. What is the length under the dead?

  huh