[rotorwrench]

Most of the Ford con rods were forged for maximum strength. Model A and flathead V8 engines were all forged. V8 con rods were high carbon manganese steel forgings and heat treated. If the initial blank is shaped correctly, it can look like it has a parting line. Castings only have sprues to cut off. The rest is up the the core design of the mold. Molds were baked a bit before casting to reduce flash. They drop castings out of the flask and put them in a shaker to get all the core sand off and out in the case of heads & blocks. Cranks were cast too but many were cast steel. Nodular cast iron development during word war II allowed for better castings when the auto manufacturing caught up to it but I don't think Ford used casting technology for con rods till much later. A lot of them are sintered or powdered metal productions in the modern era.