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Pontiac V8 Rods
Length, Journal, Bushing — Rods for Pontiac V8s
Connecting rods are where a Pontiac build stops being a parts list and starts being a combination. Rod length has to suit the stroke, and the big end has to suit the crank you bought — which on a Pontiac means either the factory 2.250" Pontiac journal or the 2.200" big-block journal that most stroker cranks use.
Butler splits rods by length so you can shop the way you build: 6.625" stock length, 6.700" and 6.800" stroker lengths, 7.100" for the long-stroke combinations, and billet aluminum. Brands on the shelf include Eagle, Scat, Molnar, Manley, Oliver, Crower, Callies and GRP.
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More About Rods
1. Rod length follows the crank
You do not pick a rod length off a chart, you pick it off the crankshaft and piston you have already chosen. Butler's rod categories are organised that way on purpose.
| 6.625" stock length | The factory Pontiac rod length, on the 2.250" Pontiac rod journal. This is the length for a stock-stroke rebuild and for the cranks that were cut to keep the factory geometry, including 4.210" stroke cranks ordered with Pontiac journals. |
| 6.700" | Listed here for 4.000" stroke combinations, and it also shows up as the paired length on several 4.250" and 4.500" cranks. |
| 6.800" | The deepest group Butler stocks, on the 2.200" big-block journal. This is the common stroker rod length for 4.250" and 4.500" cranks. |
| 7.100" | The long rod, also on the 2.200" big-block journal, for builders chasing rod ratio on a long-stroke combination. |
| Billet aluminum | Custom-length GRP rods, a separate conversation entirely — see that page. |
2. Pontiac journal or big-block journal
This is the fork in the road, and it is decided by the crankshaft, not by preference.
| 2.250" Pontiac | Factory cranks and the new cast and forged cranks ordered with Pontiac journals. Eagle, Molnar, Scat and Crower all offer 6.625" rods on this journal. |
| 2.200" big-block Chevy | What most aftermarket Pontiac stroker cranks are cut with, because it opens up a much larger rod selection and a lighter big end. If your crank spec sheet says 2.200" BBC RJ, you are in the 6.700", 6.800" or 7.100" groups. |
| Order them together | Crank, rods and pistons are one decision. Buying the crank first and the rods three months later is how mismatched compression heights happen. |
3. Bushed or press-fit, I-beam or H-beam
Two more choices, both of which follow from the piston.
| Bushed small end | For a full-floating pin. Most performance piston sets here ship with pin locks and can run either way, so the rod decides. |
| Press-fit | Eagle stocks 6.625" rods both ways for exactly this reason. Press-fit is the simpler assembly and is fine on a street engine. |
| I-beam and H-beam | Butler stocks 4340 forged H-beams and 5140 and 4340 forged I-beams, along with billet I-beams from Oliver. H-beams dominate the stroker lengths; I-beams are well represented at stock length. |
Tell us the crank, the piston compression height and the rpm the engine will see, and the rod length answers itself. Every rotating assembly Butler sells is balanced in house regardless of whose rods are in it.
Billet Aluminum Rods 6.625" Pontiac Stock Length Rods (2.250" Pontiac Rod Journal) 6.800" Stroker Length Rods (2.200" BBC Rod Journal)
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.