I only agree partly with this last post.

Firstly, cast pistons are not crap. If they were such crap then the factory wouldn't use them and for dependabilty vs. performance, cast pistons are nothing to be ashamed of. I've seen stock motors go upwards of 300,000 miles and still running.

Second, there are some stock heads that perform very very well. For example the 461's are a fabulous head for a high compression small block. The 441's are pretty good for higher displacement engines. I'm using 441's on my 4.155 bore 377 cui ground pounder.

I also don't see where the distributor currently in use is shown.

Also, there's NOTHING wrong with running a flat top piston. They are made for higher compression that dished, but, when paired with the right chambered cylinder head, can run low enough compression that 90-93 octane gasoline would be sufficient.

I run a 4.155 bore with a 72 cc head and my compression is around 10:1 which is, btw, in range of pump gasoline.

But of course, it all depends on your budget. If you have a few grand, there's a lot of things you can do to make that 355 push 400hp. But if you only have 20 dollars and a coupon for a free slurpy at the local ez go, then your probably not going to get anywhere.

Power = Money, how much do you have?