<VV> Crank Nitriding/Engine case question Question

[Chris]

Coming out of Lurk Mode for a moment... 

Considering building a 140 HP EFI in the next year or two and have a couple questions. I want to use parts I already have on hand. Collecitng info and pieces for now. 

1st question: have an EM truck engine. Can I use the block? What changes are necessary? 

2nd question: what is the difference between the 110 HP and 140 HP crank besides nitriding? I was looking over some tech info for VWs and saw this article: 

http://www.geneberg.com/article.php?ArticleID=202

"Now that our connection in Sweden has past, we have sought out a new source for crank forgings. We found a forging company in the USA that can do the job. We have redesigned our crank to be stronger than before. We have found that the forging itself was excellent, however, the Nitriding process of the crank created sort of an eggshell effect. The Nitriding was done to help with wear resistance on the journals themselves not necessarily for the strength of the crank. This problem showed itself with the cranks getting a crack in the journal radius and eventually would work itself into the center of the forging.

The first time the crank bent it would crack -- not good. So, after some research we found that by bringing up the core Rockwell and eliminating the nitride we got the best of both worlds; not a soft core with a hard shell covering it, but a harder core with enough hardness to prevent premature wear on the journals. This took some researching to get the right core strength without making the forging brittle, however, the wearability on the journals suffered slightly. Now, after 100,000 miles the journals will probably need regrinding unlike in the past where most of the time it just needed a polish."

Sound accurate? 

Thanks! 

Chris