"Do I think a S/O block is necessary? No. Do I think it has some desirable traits, such as priority main oiling? Sure. The true beauty of a side oiler is in the block's strength."
So why is the Priority Oily desirable, if TO will get you 700hp @ 7500, with reliability? And if the SO block is stronger, why would it crack, with the slight mod of oil holes as shown? Could detonation played a role in the SO cracks?
Most of the things we are looking at in the year 2021 with regard to the FE engine are about 55 years old, give or take. Understand that in 1965, they were only 30-40 years removed from dipper oiling and poured bearings! With that being said, a lot of the problems guys were dealing with in the 60's were because of the lack of technology at the time.
As I mentioned, oil was junk. I've pulled valve covers off of old cores and found a heap of sludge the shape of the valve cover.
Oil was junk? Really? I ran a 8.5K engine, on 20-50 Vavoline, in those days. Many other race engines servived on that and other race oils in those days, that included 24 hr, 500 mile races and not just drag racing. Regarding sludge, that is mostly, a product of non detergent oils, driven a long time between oil changes, on the streets. Race engine oil, didn't stay in the engines, but a short time.Lots of guys spun rod bearings back then. It's because the stock rods were junky and guys found out to make them survive with "current" technology, they would hone the big ends out of round.
Big oil pans were almost non-existent, it's not like anything today, when the aftermarket is full of big sump oil pans.
To assume no one knew anything about pans back then is rediculous! Ted had a 3" deeper pan, with a 1/16" larger pickup and as I said, he blocked off the rocker oil passage and restricted the oil to the rockers, off the top feed (.031).
I could give many more examples.
The point is that guys who were really whooping on the FE back then didn't know what we know now about things. So their reactions were, "I'll just make everything bigger."
I will agree that Teds drilling 5/16, threw to the main gallery, wasn't prudent.In reality, the top oiler oiling system isn't much different than a SBC. As you know, they do quite well.
I just happen to have a SBC 350, 4 bolt block, that I used as a display for the products I used to make.
I went out and checked it and this is how it's plumbed:
The feed is 7/16", from the pump, to the end of the main gallery (17% larger that the FE). The main bearing feed holes are 1/4" and the annular groove, around the cam bearing is, .260 wide x .128 deep, as opposed to .235 x .124/.128, measured on my FE.
The mains are 12% larger on a FE and the rods, 16% larger, than the 350.
So, I'd expect the SBC to do better, feeding the bearings, especially since the rotating assy is much lighter.In response to your comment about the oil pump mounting hole, I do not enlarge that passage, but only match it and blend it to the oil pump, just because it's not good practice to dead-head flow. Just like we don't like the air/fuel charge hitting a wall when the intake port is bigger than the head port, it's not good for oil to hit a brick wall either.
And in response to Ted running hundreds of runs without cracking a main saddle, that's all fine and good. Ted got lucky and just because he mentioned it on that one block doesn't mean that he hadn't seen it. In addition, I make more power out of a street 445 now than he did with a full race engine. Horsepower is hard on things. I've seen and know of many, many blocks that have cracked there.
Well, 84 ci is a big advantage 
I'd say JJ is more like it, 359 vs 361.
Teds 361ci, calculated HP from the Wallace site:
11.18 ET x 121.5 mph
Your HP computed from your vehicle ET is 415.18 rear wheel HP and 461.31 flywheel HP.
Your HP computed from your vehicle MPH is 411.98 rear wheel HP and 457.75 flywheel HP.
It would be expected that after 50 yrs, you could increase HP with better cam profiles, ring packs and lighter rotating componants, not to mention the heads available today."Opening those passages up is assuming a huge risk with absolutely zero benefit."
1. Does that include opening the main galley to 7/16". If so, how many FE's have you seen with that modification? As a engineer, how and why does that weaken the block and where will it crack, if that mod is done?
2. If FE blocks crack, in the same area, w/o altering (as in matching feed holes to bearings) the block, how can it be said, that the alteration causes cracking?
