I'm curious to know it the con rod is offset in your Royal 40. I have one like yours with the two piece crankcase. The con rod looks as if its been bent rearward and the top bushing is not in a direct straight line with the lower one when viewed from the side. I bought this new from the local hobby shop so I know it's not crash damage but that doesn't rule out butter fingers in the store! There is clearly a dogleg in the shank between the two bushings but the faces are perpendicular to one another if laid on a straight edge. Neither one appears to have any cant to it. I have not seen a con rod before that was not perfectly straight with the center line axis of the bushings being offset like this. Any help is appreciated as I don't want to spin it up only to have it come apart! Thanks