Best OEM blocks???

[Lem Evans]

"I can only go off of what I have read and heard at the strip"
You said it all right there.....you have no first hand knowledge of the subject.

[F1Fever]

I have seen a 2 bolt (& I believe unfilled) 454 block (496 ci) in a 3250 lb truck run well over 155 mph at Tulsa. It had some small signs of the caps walking ever so slightly, no girdle or fancy tricks besides o-rings. who knows how fast that block could have gone.... everything was off the shelf untouched, including the carb (yes, untouched, we didn't even have to change the jets)

what 1st hand do you have with a stock block bbf?

[af2]

You know what??? Run all those at .015 on the rods and you will gain lower oil temps and they will love you a long time!!!!!!!!1

This horse crap has gotten out of hand on Speedtalk and it is sad how 1 builder can claim his crap don't stink when we have been down the stink road!

[tt 383]

"I can only go off of what I have read and heard at the strip"
You said it all right there.....you have no first hand knowledge of the subject.

No need to repost the obvious statement, maybe you have some valuable info to say that disproves what I mentioned? Again, all the BBC that are raced every weekend oem or not seem to be proof enough as to reliability/cost they just dont win anything....... Maybe I can make myself clear, I have no love of brand to sway me one way or another, its what I have RESEARCHED (read) that has made my mind up for me. Being on forums like this and talking to actual people. I paid $200 for my Tall Deck block and $200 for the 2 sets of heads. Figure after I sell the steel crank/rods I will have broke even..... even though they all would be comfortable at the 1000hp goal I have, I just want more cubes.

[Lem Evans]

I bought a Coke for 5 cents.

[MadBill]

I bought a Coke for 5 cents.

Me too, hundreds of 'em. 'Course that was back in the Fifties..

[Lem Evans]

5 cent stamps

[wjnielsen]

And I started smoking on 75 cent cigarettes. Oh well, at least I'm still making minimum wage!

Kidding aside, thanks for the input, folks; I appreciate y'all taking time to give your advice.

The BB Mopar block works just fine at 650 hp. The main webs might eventually crack after dozens of WOT runs, but the typical street engine doesn't see WOT very much. The Mopar replacement blocks are fairly priced and the durability goes way up with the cross bolted mains and extra casting material.

Hey Andy, that's exactly my point. Here's the level of performance - and durability - I want, and if I can get there by switching brands, that's better than writing a check for a koleno, indy, black, or MP block.

We were talking about building a big block with fairly modest pieces. Heads that take standard kind of valve gear (keeping rockers in the $500-700 range), OE block, probably OE crank or budget aftermarket piece, economy grade rods (Scat/Eagle?), moderate weight pistons without 'trick of the week' ring packs or off the wall custom machining, hot street or endurance racing type of solid roller cam. CR as high as pump gas would allow. Basically, a hot street piece that would be able to run every other week at the strip and hopefully get a couple years on valvesprings and maybe a bit longer between teardowns.

I hear ya. It's weird how talking about engines can be like talking about religion sometimes.

paulie

You mean there's a difference?

(snip)
Bill,

On using OEM, don’t unless the rules force you to. They are not as strong, flow as good, wind as tight or take shock very well. All of them have been cheapened by the bean counters. Aftermarket has been created to increase performance, survive harsher environments, and give an advantage over the OEM product. You can easily spend twice the amount trying to increase performance or strength in an OEM product. As for starting a fight. Don’t worry. Anytime you mention the word BEST, it will happen. Doesn’t matter if it is block, heads, cam, oil, sparkplugs or brand.
(another snip)

Yeah, you should see the fur fly if I was on a MoPar forum and asked this question... I'd be branded a heretic for sure!

And I'm sure that all the aftermarket blocks are going to be tougher than the OE ones. But, will the original ones do what I want? Or, will I end up in the same place with a 460 or 454 block - where I'm thinking "jeez, I really don't want to hammer on this and risk breaking it"? That's what I'm trying to figure out.

About THE most sensible statement in this ENTIRE thread. As far as the Mopar stuff, he mentioned using the 440 Source heads? Any decent 440 block is MORE than adequate for the power levels those heads are capable of generating.

Sorry, George, can't 100% agree with that one. If the heads are OOTB, yeah, probably. But, I would want to step up past the heads I have (next time); building something with a max wedge port window. And those heads do flow enough to build the steam that breaks the block.

By the way, how come there hasn't been ANY love for the Daihatsu so far on this thread?

-Bill

[tt 383]

I bought a Coke for 5 cents.

See if, you would have said that in the first place you would have surely convinced all of us...... enjoy your coke picking up your stock BBF bottom end after spinning it to 8000.

[dfree383]

I bought a Coke for 5 cents.

See if, you would have said that in the first place you would have surely convinced all of us...... enjoy your coke picking up your stock BBF bottom end after spinning it to 8000.

It would be nice if you had some real experiance to add to this discussion, You have no clue about a any make so why bother even speaking up.

[dfree383]

"I can only go off of what I have read and heard at the strip"
You said it all right there.....you have no first hand knowledge of the subject.

No need to repost the obvious statement, maybe you have some valuable info to say that disproves what I mentioned? Again, all the BBC that are raced every weekend oem or not seem to be proof enough as to reliability/cost they just dont win anything....... Maybe I can make myself clear, I have no love of brand to sway me one way or another, its what I have RESEARCHED (read) that has made my mind up for me. Being on forums like this and talking to actual people. I paid $200 for my Tall Deck block and $200 for the 2 sets of heads. Figure after I sell the steel crank/rods I will have broke even..... even though they all would be comfortable at the 1000hp goal I have, I just want more cubes.

Good Luck making a 1000hp with those $200 heads...... Your in for a real treat when the real bill for the 1000hp comes in.

[Lem Evans]

I bought a Coke for 5 cents.

See if, you would have said that in the first place you would have surely convinced all of us...... enjoy your coke picking up your stock BBF bottom end after spinning it to 8000.

Actually it was a Jack and Coke after my buddy Phillip Oakley won T/D at Atlanta this year with his BBF and yes he did turn it 8,000 rpm.

[F1Fever]

yea, I bet that was a stock block...

[dfree383]

yea, I bet that was a stock block...

Factory Ford Block and Numbers E9ZE I believe........ Factory Bore Spacing, Factory Deck Height, Factory Main Size......

[Paul Kane]

The exhaust ports are where most of the magic is, as each cylinder head is available with either a raised port "Cobra Jet" port or for maximum power a big block Chevrolet exhaust port is optional.

http://www.cprparts.com/products/heads/ ... under.html

The exhaust port is more important????? Why bother trying to get it out if you can't even get it in???? Although both ports indeed have their independent roles within a given cylinder head, cylinder filling via the intake port is paramount over the exhaust. Exhaust may be crutched with camshaft. For years now, big time builders have been moving to smaller and smaller exhaust valves and making room for bigger intakes.

One last thing: there isn't a BBF applicable cylinder head currently on the market--nor has there ever been one---that uses a "chevy" exhaust port; that is a misnomer and the store in the link you noted is mistakenly advertising the heads as a "chevy exhaust port." (Blue Thunder calls it a "chevy exhaust," not a "chevy exhaust port.") Specifically, some of the aftermarket BBF heads utilize the BBC exhaust flange so as to incorporate BBC headers without the BBF-style pinched primary tubes and/or certain aftermarket headers (such as marine applicable) that are currently available in BBC but not BBF. The actual exhaust port is unique unto itself and not duplicated from the BBC. Were it a true BBC shaped port it wouldn't offer up flow numbers like that of the aftermarket designed port in question which utilizes only the big chevy's flange.

Paul