questions about rebuilding bottom end with stock components

[raceinspiredrex]

i have a 88 crx si with the stock a6 bottom end and a y8 head. i'm changing the direction i'm going and am going to be rebuilding the bottom end and using a z6 head. i have z6 rods and pistons that i can install too. i don't want to use aftermarket rods and pistons. i have a couple of questions about the setup though.

are the a6 rods the exact same as the z6? everybody says all d16 rods are the same and are interchangeable, but has anybody actually compared them? since the a6 block is stronger, i was thinking what if the a6 rods are a tiny bit beefier also? but not enough to see unless you actually measured everything and whatnot

also, exactly what can i do to beef up whatever rods i'm using? shotpeen, polish side beams, and use arp rod bolts. anything else? nobody around here seems to shotpeen anymore though so not sure what to do.

i read that when using arp rod bolts you should get the rods resized because the arp's put a stronger clamping pressure on the rods and changes everything. is this a must? do i have to use thicker bearings to compensate for the resize?

i think that's about it for now. please help as much as you can as i have all of this going through my head and can't find any useful information anywhere. thanks a lot

 

[raceinspiredrex]

come on now, nobody's got anything for me?

 

[raceinspiredrex]

it's been almost a week and nobody has said anything? i know somebody's strengthened stock internals before. let me know guys. thanks