Yes, we were running aluminum rods. Just think though, this was back from 1978-ish to the late 1980's, so costs and technology weren't what they are today. I think the yearly racing budget was between $10 and $15 thousand depending on parts failure and breakage in the early days, but we ran at the front of the pack also. Given inflation over the past 35 years and the high cost of "high tech", I can believe Kaase's estimate of $500K to be competitive in today's market. But in the early days when things were simpler and you had to go racing with the money you had in your pocket, it was still tough. Our engines were expendable, and at our peak HP level, they were good for (20) quarter mile passes before the crankshaft either broke or was replaced because on pass #21 it would break. Our compression was over 15-1/2 to 1, not desirable for steel rods, and we left the starting line between 10,500 and 11,200 RPM, but our shifts were made at 7000 RPM. These engines were literally on the ragged edge, but that's what it took to be at the top. I'm sure it no different today, even with billet cranks and billet heads. Many of the "deep pocket" racers use titanium rods which are about $4500 from Crower. We used them once, and about halfway through the second pass at the Mile High Nats in Denver, one of the entire rods still attached to the piston and part of the crank journal came through the side of the block. They were still about $4000 a set even back in the late 1970's. There is just no guarantee that even using the best pieces will result in longevity or piece of mind.
Now to address your question, as FTF has already suggested using the shorter stroke 240 engine as your engine, I would also agree for several reasons. One, is that in my opinion, the shorter stroke crank and large bore will be a better engine combo and yield a higher net HP. It will come at a higher RPM as well than say a 300 stroke engine, but the shorter stroke is going to be better suited for this, and you will also be able to get a much better rod length to stroke ratio to help reduce side loading issues and prolong engine life. Second, it can also put you into a better entry level class with smaller cubic inches where the slowest guy in the faster classes still has 750+HP or more with a 300 cubic inch engine. Its still going to have to be "game on" to be competitive in the smaller engine class, but in those bigger cubic inch classes, your also having to run against 300 cubic inch V8's that are making 800+HP in the same class. There's not many V8's that are in the 240 cubic inch range, so you'll truly be running and competing against other inlines in the same class as you. We ran in D/D(D/Dragster) from 1983-1988 in NHRA's Comp Eliminator, and won several national championships during that time and set quite a few records as well in that class. Hope this helps!
