82 Stroker Crankshaft Choices

Some guys don't like welded cranks. IMHO, there's no reason not to use one in a street engine, and I trust old German metallurgy more than modern Chinese metallurgy.

As Stan said, there are guys that don't like welded crankshafts (and I'm of the understanding that if you've ever seen a Bergmann or GEX counterweighted/stroked crank you'll know why), but there are thousands of them out there (even today) and if it's been welded, heat treated and machined correctly so the main bearings are all in the center (more of an issue than you'd think) and the rods are all in the right place and sized properly it will deliver years of service. I mention this because I once had a Claude's Buggies cast 69mm counterweighted crank with one of the rod bearings .010" out of index; I had to cut .010" off 3 piston tops (and then rebalance; I learned not to have parts balanced until mock up was done) to get proper deck height across all 4 cylinders. A couple years later I replaced the cast crank with a Gene Berg welded original VW unit and surprise, the thing was machined correctly, the other piston had to be trimmed and the pistons rebalanced again.

DPR has been welding up, counterweighting and stroking VW cranks for a long time, and although I've never seen one (I don't think...) there are lots of guys that swear by their work. I know a guy in town that runs an 88mm crankshaft by Demello in his Cal Look bug (2442cc's with 94's, IDA's, an 86C cam and 44 or 46x37 heads) that makes huge power; Cam said the crank looked like a piece of art and measured up exactly. It's a legitimate mid 11 second street car (with Berg 5, of course!), but he's never run it down the local track; I think the thing makes so much power it scares him...

That all said, a 4340 chromoly steel forged crank is pretty well state of the art for metallurgy these days, so the CB and Scat are 2 great choices as well. Berg used to warn people away from Scat cranks, claiming they broke at the oiling groove on the main bearing surfaces, but (in retrospect, since I've never heard of a Scat crank breaking like that) I wonder if it was a scare tactic to direct people to his wares. The Bergs have built nothing but 1st rate parts through the years (and continue to do so), but Gene did want to sell you his stuff, and always had a reason why buying from him was better.

Bottom line- any of the 3 (and Demello if they're still at it) would be a good choice. The only caveat is to make sure (before buying) that they will take it back if you measure it up and it isn't sized correctly. Check the pulley surface dimension as well; I've heard of cranks (I don't know who from) being undersized here (it should be a snug fit and not just slide on) and guys having trouble keeping pulleys on. Al

PS- Scat doesn't have the best history of taking things back, so if you're considering them be clear (with them) that you will be taking it to a machinist (to be checked) and anything non spec will be reason for returning it.

All I've had is good luck with Demello cranks. They'll easily stand up to 200 hp, so it would be my choice for the application.

Listen to Yoda you shall.

Or Stan.