Rich,

Good news for you on the engine. If all you need to do is re-ring and bearing it your lucky.

One other reason for a CNC bowtie block on any 500+hp engine is not just the strength it's the machining. Even if you get the block you need upgraded enough, you still need to put $2000 of work into it making sure the everything is in the right place if you REALLY want to be ****! Somethings like making sure the lifter bores are in the right spot is very hard to do. It's $2000 because for anybody good enough to do it, the time envolved with getting it there is huge and ususally the paycheck they need for that amount of time is equal to that. I figure that a $2400 block is a excellent $2000 of machinining and $400 worth of block. A simple Bore/Hone and making sure the crank fits is easy work.

The reason I get into this is because true most guys will never need that much done to a block. Top end competiton or even high dollar engines should have this done because it's what you are paying for. The good aftermarket blocks like the Dart or the World Products block are the in the same range of the CNC bowtie in quality, strength and cost. For example the block guy for Keith Dorton who specialies in $30K Hooters Cup engines starts with a non machined Bowtie and get's it machined exactly or as good as the CNC versions. The work that goes into a spec head engine to get it to be the absolute best in the bussiness is extremely detail oriented. It should be, because having a lifter bore in the wrong spot, wrong angle could wipe out a cam lobe (which goes alot farther than that) I just preach this stuff because making sure that the parts that make the power and take the power have a good base to work off of keeps the harmfull effects of them spinning around and twisting in all sorts of strange manners to a minimum. In turn adding durabilty and life to the engine combo.

I'm not tring to argue with Rich on this. He's right the more high dollar they are the more this type of block is needed. I would rather say that it's not the money but what you expect to get out of the money. If you don't expect a engine block to get thru 2 seaons because of what it starts as I would just rather start with a stronger base from the start. Horsepower and money have a exponetial relationship because when you get to a certain power level, say 500hp, then things like forged cranks, rods, pistons start entering the equation so you can handle the power that is thrown at them. It's never just the parts that make the power that need to be upgraded to get there, it's the ones that take it too. Yes you can always run a production based block and sometimes they don't break, and it's true that the blocks don't make power. When I look at 3-4 times the power level, production pieces are not designed to take that, as long as one expects a short life for the parts envolved then it's o.k. True blocks don't break much, but they do break other things when they are not up to the task.

It's a good covnersation to have. I belive your right on what you say. I still want to see this terror run!

Bret