Edumacate me also ohhhh wise ones...rayer:...how much power will a 1977 smogger stock 318 rod take before it lets go?
The last 360 I had used stock 360 rods w/ARP bolts. I ground the "knots" off each end and polished the beams. That motor went through the lights at 7K for several hundred passes and saw street miles also. Ran 11.50's in a 3200LB Duster. Not sure what kind of power it made but they held up fine for years. For the money I would use the SCAT I beams. I have used the SIR's but the scats wheren't out yet. H beams are also nice but heavy.
I know you're looking for real world experience, but you need to find someone that has broken stock rods and under what conditions they broke under. I have run these to 6500/7000 N/A and never lost one. Probably lucky, but it is what it is. In a stroker situation, the piston will take more abuse, due to speed, then the rod, imo. If your really concerned about this with what your planning, i'd just go aftermarket and be done with it....By the way, did you get your crank squared away while you were in Florida?
I had a 360 that I sprayed with a 180 shot for about 8 years with stock crank and stock rods...BUT, I had very light JE pistons and ARP rod bolts on those rods. I think if you are asking the question "what can these rods take", then it is time to upgrade. When I built my stroker I didn't want to find out if the stock rods could take the abuse of a longer stroke, so I went with Scat I-beams which are 4340 steel (and of course, a very light piston).