Best aftermarket block and rotating assembly

[bigswede442]

I've recently post on the FE forum about replacing my 66 vintage side oiler block and rotating assembly, both need a lot of work. I'm want to put together a 482 stroker and want to make sure it will last. I've talk to a few great guys and kinda know what i want but this going to be a large investment that will make me very unpopular with the boss, so i got to get this right the first time. Any opinions on bolting cast iron Tunnelports heads on aluminum block . Which is better ,Pond or Dove block? What crank and rod do I use. No real FE experts in my neck of the woods, What shop should I send it to? Looking for north of 600 hp with a little street manners. Going in 40 Ford coupe with ST-10 four gear running 4.86 gear set . Also should I trade out my 6 AL2 to a 7 AL3 box ,any opinions good or bad are welcomed. Thanks again Konrad from Alberta Canada

[jayb]

Welcome to the forum, and sounds like a great project.  My advice would be to steer well clear of the Dove block.  My personal experience with Dove parts has included poorly machined and leaky head castings, substandard SOHC rocker arms, etc.  The Pond block is an excellent part; I have one and it has hung in there through various iterations of an SOHC engine up to over 800 HP.  Also FYI I have it from a VERY reliable source that Genesis cast iron 427 blocks are coming back soon.  The cast iron block would be a better match for your cast iron heads, and should be significantly cheaper than an aluminum block.  This is not to say that you can't bolt your cast iron heads on an aluminum block, because you certainly can do that.

For a HP target of 650 or so you can use a cast Scat crank and Scat H-Beam rods with good results.  A forged crank would be better, of course, but there are some sub-standard forged cranks out there now so make sure you get any crank checked carefully by the shop that puts them together.  A lot of the forged cranks need to be ground 10/10 or 20/20 even when new to get the dimensions right.

My recommendations for a shop are either Barry Rabotnick at Survival Motorsports or Blair Patrick at Blair Patrick Racing Engines.  They both do excellent work, and there are many people on this forum and other forums that will vouch for their FE expertise.

Finally, on the MSD the 6 will be fine for your application; on the dyno I've run up to 800 HP with an MSD Digital 6.  MSD 7s are killer boxes, but you won't need something that powerful for your combination.

Good luck on the project, and keep us updated on your progress - Jay

[ScotiaFE]

Also the Bear Block.
We should be a little flush with blocks in a few months.

Here's Rob's TP.
http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=726.0

[blykins]

My vote would be the Pond block.  I'm doing a TP build right now with a Pond cast iron block and Gary Vere's TP heads, and have done 4 other Pond block builds in the past 2 months. 

I use a lot of the Pond stuff....mainly aluminum, but the cast iron blocks are super sweet as well and will hold tons of horsepower.   I posted a pic of the cast iron block over on the other forum...just had Robert deliver me one last week.   The cast iron blocks and the aluminum blocks (Pond) are both the same price.  Both come with main and head studs and a set of cam bearings.

A Scat crank and rods would be my weapons of choice.  A cast crank will hold up to that horsepower, but Scat has the forged pieces out as well if you want some insurance.   I predominantly use the Scat pieces and have seen nothing but good quality out of them.

I've used one Dove block, and it was a "vintage" one.  It was very rough on the outside, but machined up well. 

[sumfoo1]

I have an aluminum pond block with billet crower crank and rods coming built for turbo, I'll let you know how that goes.