Thread: SBC" Hank The Crank"??.

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A"Hank The Crank" 370 SBC crankshaft is that a valued collector's item??.

Only to someone who truly recognizes it and has money to burn. There are a lot of places to buy a 3.625 Chevy crankshaft for a whole lot less than Hank would have charged. Here’s a bit o’ history on Hank:

Hank Bechtloff started at The Crankshaft Company in down town Los Angeles. He became the head machinist by the late 50s and specialized in Offenhauser cranks for Indy cars. If it was an Offy, Hank ground the crank (yes, he was that good). He opened his own shop in the mid-60s in North Hollywood, specializing in custom cranks including welding strokers. His work was never “cheap” but always among the best (starting at $1,000 and up. In the 1960’s that was a ton of money for a crank!). As such, he could not survive in the retail market and went wholesale only to the "very-high-end" market of top fuel racers. He did re-open a shop in Southgate but due to poor health, his son Scott too over and ran the place.

Scott closed the shop several years ago but still retains all the rights to the names and logos. Hank was the best of the best, but the cost was prohibitive for the average guy.