forged rebuild kit?

Let me put it this way, I've never seen or heard of a stock crank shaft failing. The stock block is good for probably just south of 1,000hp and as stated before the stock crank is rated for well over 600hp...but many have pushed them far beyond that. It's RPM that will kill your stock crank shaft at these levels, not necessarily horsepower.

The kits install the same as they do in an OHV engine. Tolerances in most cases are a little closer, but not much. I really don't know what to tell you other than if you decide to assemble it yourself, get a "good" shop manual (not Hayes or Chiltons) that contains all the proper specs and go to town.

And mixedbreed02gt, be prepared to spend some money if you dare to even venture close to those power levels. Most proper build packages will cost you in the $10-$12 range with all the supporting mods and hardware and can venture up to as high as $20k....so start saving your pennies.

To be honest, if you guys know that you'll be shooting for those power levels eventually, skip the 2.1L and go for the gusto right away. The 2.6L can always be underpulleyed to work with your stock engine until funds permit. But having to upgrade twice is not only expensive, but a big PITA to tear everything off again and start from scratch.