Con rods

[Peter Gregson]

I have a dozen or more con rods and am trying to select 4 for an engine rebuild.
All are marked with the number 1A348, some followed by MF, some with MF stamped on the other side. The stamping of some numbers are clearer than others.
I have 4 marked with the same number but with Austin written in the company’s script on the other side - nice touch!
All have a number stamped on the big end of the rod with matching number on the cap.
Sadly I do not have matching caps for all rods.
All are 1 5/16 white metal.
Can anyone advise if all are interchangable.
They will be remetalled.

2 questions on crankshafts.
I have a good crank which unlike a couple of others I have is clearly stamped with the number 105208. Does this number mean anything?
The flywheel end of the crank has been “pocked”, the old way of making good when the race has been turning on the shaft.
Any advice on making good the end to take a race in a rebuilt engine which is having some mild tuning or is re-pocking  enough?

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Whatever you decide, do crack test test them before selection otherwise all work will be wasted...

[Bob Culver]

On conrods, the state of the little end eye and thread is vital. Many rods have been damaged by heavy dents from straightening jigs, and these often been applied wrong to curve rods in the middle. All should finally weigh similar. Some forgings certainly look superior to others.
 The number on crank is the original engine number.  Others presumably after market replacements, which may not be Austin.
The loose bearing is common. Remedy methods involving heating have shortened the life of very many shafts. Unexpected though it may be, the first cracks often appear at the last radius. No one seems to advocate but for those adept at precision lathe work it seems feasible to sleeve and to bore the housing for a (much less expensive) metric bearing. All crank radii must be maintained.