[A Snake]

Karl,

It's real easy to tell if it is really steel and not cast iron.....even still in the block. A cast crank has parting lines on the counterweights and throws. They're fairly thin. A steel crank has been forged, and what would be parting lines is a very wide (1/4-3/8") raised area that will evidence grinding.

Last easy identifier: (out of the block) strike a steel crank with a hammer and it rings like a bell. A cast crank just makes a metallic thunk...no ring. Obviously you don't hit a crank in a vital area. Just tap on a counterweight.

No, other than custom aftermarket, there are no steel 428 cranks.

If it somehow has a factory steel crank and the block is truly a 428 bore, it would be a 406. Not at all impossible, though most 406's (as far as I know) had cast cranks. Could just be a backyard homologation of parts too. Not impossible for it to have had a 361 truck crank (steel) modified for passenger engine use. Using that crank in a 427 makes it about 400 cid. don't know what it would be in a 428 block.

Al