Thread: choosing a block to start with.

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any sugestions on choosing a block. what casting to look for and what ones to stay away from. the heads im going to use are Dart Iron Eagle 215/64 202/160 heads and will handle up to a 600 lift, any suggestions on what pistons and other parts to use to get top performance? i definately want a very radicle idle and just want to make sure the parts i get match up. as soon as i get a block ill get the machine work done and then ill be asking more questions on compression, intake, etc.Thank you all in advance, Mike

I would look for a 400 block, have it bored .030 over, and look for some Wiseco, Ross, or JE forged pistons in the 11.5:1 compression ratio. Have around .015 taken off the block, and with a Felpro gasket will leave about .045 from piston to valve. Since you are going radical, I would get a forged crank and H beam rods, a Lunati roller cam setup, Victor intake, and a worked Holley carb. That will give you some giddyup. What vehicle will this be going in?

it all depends on what you want to do with the motor, do you want a daily driver or an all out track car my guess is you want someting that you can race on the track on Sunday and drive to work on Monday well then i would go with a 383 of 350 or even a 327 it all depends on what you want to do i like 327s and 283s but that is just me u may like more displacement it all depends on personal preference we would need more info on ur car and what u plan to do with it before we could go any further with this discussion u said u wanted a radical idle well you can get that from anything you just have to have the right parts

Thanks for the replies, I dont have a chassis yet, just going to start building the power plant right now. I want to go with a 350 for sure, but just looking for some input . This is my first build and just want to have fun with it. Its going to be something to take to the track on occasion and just play with in town, not a daily driver but not a full strip either. Just a quick addition, i found a block, its a 80 to 85 4 bolt 350, going to pick it up this weekend and get the machine work done so ill be having some questionswhen its time to buy pistons. im sorry if i ramble on, i just really want to be sure all the parts i buy match up really well. i dont want to just buy stuff, throw it together and think its going to work.

cool i am not really a big fan of 350 but it is still a good motor i would rather have a 327 i has a shorter stroke and can rev pretty high

How far out are you going to bore it? I would recommend .030, but .040 to .060 is not unheard of. If the block is a virgin, I would go .040 over, as evryone has a 355 including myself. Parts will need to be bought anyway, be a little different!

ill bore whatever is nessecary, .30/.40 i did find some TRW federal Mogul pistons. forged, 30 over, stock stroke, stock 5.7 rod length, with the heads i have it would be a 10.3:1 compression. They are asking 250 for them, this sound like a good buy and the right part to start with? or should i be looking at cast or hyperwhatever pistons? lol sorry.
Let me break this down real quick i was looking around and was thinkinging of this set up, let me know what you think. Ill use the pistons stated above, stock crank and rods with arp bolt kit. crane hyd roller cam with a 550 lift, dart iron eagle 215/64 heads w/ 202 160 valves. hydraulic roller lifters and roller rockers, stud girdles. sound good so far? what intake and size carb shoud i use if this combo sounds good. I dont mean to sound needy or stupid, just want to do it rigt the first time.

I like forged pistons, they usually don't require as tight of clearances for bore but you can buy hyperutectic if you want, they like to have tighter bore clearances, but typically can't stand as much abuse or heat, they do not like nitrous apparently but are a pretty good piston. If you want an all out motor, try to get forged rods, you can keep the crank as long as it is good, (clearances, polished, straight etc) I would use 6 inch rods to start with, but if you buy pistons meant for 5.7 inch rods then you are stuck with the shorter rod. Apparently longer rods are better for power and powerband as they produce less side loading of the piston as well as a smaller angular moment on the crank. The cam is not only dependent on the lift, the duration is KEY to the ability of the engine. Roller rockers and stud girdles sound good. Don't forget to get the proper length pushrods or the geometry will be all bad and that can cause all sorts of small problems and longetivity issues. I like the Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, it has proven to be the best dual plane manifold that Edelbrock makes, or you can use a single plane but that will also be dependent on the cam's duration. To be honest, the carb is almost always overcompensated for. A 350 engine revving 6500 rpm with a Volumetric efficiency of 80 percent (which is pretty good for a NA motor, typically they are 70-75 percent) will only require 540 cfm of carb, however if the engine had 100 percent VE it would require 670 cfm. I spose you could get a 600 cfm carb and be happy with its manners and ability. I don't know, got any other questions?

tHANK YOU FOR THE REPLY, GOOD ADVICE. HOW DO I DETERMINE PUSHROD LENGTH AND HOW DO I BE SURE THAT MY DECK CLEARENCE WILL BE ENOUGH? DO I JUST GET 6 IN RODS AND PISTONS MADE FOR THEM AND THE CLEARNCE SHOULD BE OK?ILL HAVE MANY MORE AS THE BUILD GOES ON, PROBABLY REAL BASIC QUESTIONS, HOPE YOU ALL DONT MIND, BUT THIS IS MY FIRST.

Pushrod lenght: 1st buy or make an adjustable pushrod, set cam so, lets say #1 intake is on the base circle, 2nd install a valve checking spring or no spring at all, 3rd, use a sharpie felt tip pen and color the valve stem black, 4th install your adjustable pushrod, and set the length so the rocker arm roller is just on the exhaust side of center of the valve stem, wiggle the rocker so it makes a mark on the valve stem, now rotate the cam so the valve is full open, once again wiggle the rocker arm to make a mark on the valve stem, you want the marks to be as close to the center of the valve stem as possible when the valve is closed and open. When installing the adjustable pushrod I go for 0 lash on base circle. Don't compress the lifter. Anyway that's how I did it. As far as 6in rods go, the pistons are made for them, you will need to check for the correct deck height when you get all your parts. If you don't have enough deck height clearance, there are many diffferent head gasket configurations and thicknesses. Good luck.

awsome, thank you soo much, i really appreciate everyones input on this, i need it all too.

Thank you, i will definately get the book. But i am still worried that i wont figure this pushrod length thing out, and i dont want to mess anything up. im sure ill get it. As far as zero deck, is that what is good to run or should it be something else? im going to stick with the stock 5.7 rods and go with the forged istons for sure. This is my first time on this site and you all are soo helpfull, thank you all so very much. you all rock...