Any comments on this craziness on a stock rod. Is this not effecting any potential failure points?

 

No, because the main failure point of a rod is where the tapper is at the base of the beam. This is a standard procedure for rebuilds. Also guys that do budget LS Vtec engines toss in ARP studs(due to LS being 7mm vs Vtec engines 8mm rod studs), which then requires the rod to be line honed.

 

Then to ask a dumb question.. If I am doing ARP bolts and the rod needs to be corrected anyway, would swapping rod caps be plausible so that I can then do this to lighten them?
My rods have the support of the rod cap on the outside as 2 'ribs' rather than the single thicker rib down the middle. So turning it down would severely weaken it.
I could provide pics if you like...

 

Yes pictures would help. Typically when doing the ARP rod bolt upgrade the rods are also shot peened which adds strength to the rod.What rod caps are you going to try and use? One more question what is your end goal like application this is going to be used in

 

Honestly it is just dumb fun for the hell of it.
I am doing a ghetto(ish) budget build with an 80's 2.0 SOHC 12 valve. My goal is to emulate an LS build. The rods are LS length and journal size, but 20mm pins. So I either bore it to 84 and can't really go more again if needed later or stick with stock pin size.
I've chosen the stock piston route and am looking to maximize and lighten what I can. The complete rod/piston assembly is 984g. B20 is 946.
The head on the other hand will be very built with 5.5mm stems and oversized valves.

Now about the rods, here is the pic. The left is my A20 with the cap reinforcement on the outside vs the PR4's central strength. I already have ARP bolts and planning to peen them.

 

Do you have the A20 yet. If so I would strongly recommend taking the crankshaft to a machine shop with the rods so it can be precisely measure. Even for the rod width between the journals. Awesome plan though my first car was an 1986 Prelude SI with the BT2 2.0 12 valve. It was a super fun car and handled great.

 

Yep, i got a long block with a spun bearing for $50. All will be checked out well.
My first car was an 85 carb lude, and is still in the garage with a B20vtec. My current daily is an 86 Si. Found it in Connecticut with 62k miles. I just switched it to OBD1 and it feels like a new engine.