Yes I had rod knocking. Yes the Ford shop did it free. NO nothing was changed except the rod bearings.. The mains were all ok each time.
The "straight line" thingy you speak of is bothering me a bit.. The rod is always sending or receiving pressure in a "straight line" from the crank.. granted they are not always direcrly in line but the pressure IS..
Oddly the piston pins never made noise.. As long as I owned that ride they were quiet.
I have slept a few times since 63 and cannot remember the gearing but as I think of it I am sure I went up (numerically) two ratios from stock...whatever that was.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />