Small Block & Big Block Chevy Specific - Block help please.

I have hear some casting numbers off the block that i picked up this week in the start of freshening up my 388 inch stroker SBC it is 13to1 on 6inch rods and makes roughly 550 horse at flywheel on motor. Kinda mild by the way heads and camshaft wise. But was wondering if this block is inferior at all to an oldschool 60s and early 70s block like some people will swear are the strongest but the main caps are more rounded and smooth than an older blocks seeming to b a better idea in my oppinion. This work horse is a very low end quick revving engine that turns about 7000 rpm usually and will have somewhere around 150 or 200 shot. Anyone have any usfull information for me based on the info i placed below. THANKYOU


10066036...350...........2 or 4...Target Master/Goodwrench crate motor, 2-piece rear
seal, "Hecho en Mexico"

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=40383

I have hear some casting numbers off the block that i picked up this week in the start of freshening up my 388 inch stroker SBC it is 13to1 on 6inch rods and makes roughly 550 horse at flywheel on motor. Kinda mild by the way heads and camshaft wise. But was wondering if this block is inferior at all to an oldschool 60s and early 70s block like some people will swear are the strongest but the main caps are more rounded and smooth than an older blocks seeming to b a better idea in my oppinion. This work horse is a very low end quick revving engine that turns about 7000 rpm usually and will have somewhere around 150 or 200 shot. Anyone have any usfull information for me based on the info i placed below. THANKYOU


10066036...350...........2 or 4...Target Master/Goodwrench crate motor, 2-piece rear
seal, "Hecho en Mexico"

I would really have it sonic tested to make sure its a good peice and any engine we build at our shop wiht that much power we would install splayed center caps making it a more dependable peice when its done as we have seen a few block that the caps have been over powered causing breakage and main webb cracking.

Splayed caps tie the main webbing and pan rail togeter making a stronger peice.

The block is already a 4 bolt straight block so would that make it pointless to splaid the caps and leave all those open holes there.

My machineist is Gill from A&S machine in gibsonton and everytime i talk to him he doesnt give me a straight answer in fact most of the machineist ive taken my stuff to have been that way kinda shady seeming. The last time i had thompsons machine shop put billit straight caps on my block they werent cut right and it made the crankshaft bind up while running but not while sitting on the stand and didnt show any signs of anything when i was platigaging it wich i know isnt better than down right measurements and straight edges but i dont neccisarrly have the tools to do all of this in my bedroom i shouldnt have to worry about all of that if im paying such good money for machine work. Needless to say it spit out the front main bearing and im looking to start all over again and i picked this block up standard with only a light ridge in it and no beat up bearings for 75 dollars.
Like i said the machinist says as long as the nitrouse is right on stock caps should do just fine ive had a good friend of mine who has been usin him for years recomend him and at one point in time i had a rotating assembly that was balanced and had his logo on it and was dated 1985 so hes been around a little while.

Thanks i appreciate all the comments and help.

According to a ARP Tech that I talked to he told me that they haven't had (That he knew of)a single failure on a motor useing their studs on a SBC. He explained that it is usually a connecting rod that always breaks before anything does. THIS IS JUST A GENERALIZED STATEMENT THAT HE TOLD ME. Chevy Hi Performance once took a good used SBC and dyno tested it to see how much N2O it could handle. It finally came apart on a 325 HP shot, not due to lack of strength, but because they purged it at idle.

The block is already a 4 bolt straight block so would that make it pointless to splaid the caps and leave all those open holes there.


Thanks i appreciate all the comments and help.

WOW we machine quite a few 4 bolt main blocks for splayed caps that are 7.500 wide as we plug the holes that are not used and the splayed bolt holes are approx. an inch past the holes we plug and goes into the pan rail making it much stronger then just using a billet replacement cap that puts all the stress on just the main webbing of the block.

Most shops that are not set up to machine for splayed caps always shy away from them.

You must not be dealing with a very high end shop if they can't machine for splayed caps. HMMMMMMMM

You must not be dealing with a very high end shop if they can't machine for splayed caps. HMMMMMMMM[/QUOTE]


yeah they arnt real high end places but are usually real respected

Also I was wondering what you thing about what that gentleman above your last post was saying about what that ARP tech was saying because i always use ARP studs in my mains and bolts everywhere else.

I dont think i could really afford to have the block splaided right now was just wondering if maybe a short fill and my studs would tighten that block up enough to hold up to its job. Its not some dead ass race car or anything it is a street driver every day driven when its tagged and insured. probably will only see nitrouse runs on occasional weekends.

You must not be dealing with a very high end shop if they can't machine for splayed caps. HMMMMMMMM


yeah they arnt real high end places but are usually real respected

Also I was wondering what you thing about what that gentleman above your last post was saying about what that ARP tech was saying because i always use ARP studs in my mains and bolts everywhere else.

I dont think i could really afford to have the block splaided right now was just wondering if maybe a short fill and my studs would tighten that block up enough to hold up to its job. Its not some dead ass race car or anything it is a street driver every day driven when its tagged and insured. probably will only see nitrouse runs on occasional weekends.[/QUOTE]

A kot of people think installing a stud kit makes the main caps stronger of something as I really don't see how as they are only a grey cast cap as its like putting new ARP rod bolts in a old set of rods its still an old set of rods with better fasteners.

Over the years we have seen on some of the old 010 K blocks that when putting studs in the outter 4 bolt caps that when the studs are bottomed out and the torqued that they tend to cause a crack in webbing of the block as the webing in the K blocks are weaker then the 010/020 blocks

I f we have a block with 2482 on the center caps as those are the nodular iron caps that GM used on the heavy duty and performance engines we use them up to 450 horse anything more then that we install splayed caps. We have seen a few broken 4 bolt caps overr the years when they are over powered.

Look in the GM cataloge and see what they rate there blocks at you maybe surprised.

At our shop we try to build engines that are dependable and safe.

EVERYBODY safety rates their parts at a lower HP rateing than what they can actually handle. With my circle track customer's they have to use a factory engine block that was used in normal production vehicles. They WILL NOT spend the money for billet caps, let alone useing the splayed mains. In the "Modified" class they are makeing 500+ HP in an alcohol 383-434 cubic inch engines that will last season after season. There are very few of these customers that will even spring for studs on the heads or mains. Their reasoning is that their engine could be claimed for $525. I am not saying that I don't try to use splayed main caps in my engine builds, but that most people will not use them due to cost. Yet their motors are still lasting without failure.

My personal engines in my late model LT-1's, I utilize the billet splayed mains for strength. I feel that they also help reduce bearing wear, crankshaft wear, and crankshaft flexing at higher rpm.

EVERYBODY safety rates their parts at a lower HP rateing than what they can actually handle. With my circle track customer's they have to use a factory engine block that was used in normal production vehicles. They WILL NOT spend the money for billet caps, let alone useing the splayed mains. In the "Modified" class they are makeing 500+ HP in an alcohol 383-434 cubic inch engines that will last season after season. There are very few of these customers that will even spring for studs on the heads or mains. Their reasoning is that their engine could be claimed for $525. I am not saying that I don't try to use splayed main caps in my engine builds, but that most people will not use them due to cost. Yet their motors are still lasting without failure.

My personal engines in my late model LT-1's, I utilize the billet splayed mains for strength. I feel that they also help reduce bearing wear, crankshaft wear, and crankshaft flexing at higher rpm.

At our shop we stop using stock caps around 450 horse as we have seen the results of what happens if we don't as far as Bearing wear like you have mentioned and we have seen broken caps and broken webbing on blocks over the years.

Most of our circle track engines we build we are doing the splayed center caps, fornt billet cap and a strap on the rear main, .875 or .904 lifters and BBC cam tunnel where the rules allow and with all this extra work they don't want to take a chance on caps moving around or breaking.

I understand and agree wholeheartily! This local track uses the IMCA sanctioning rules that prohibits any lifter or cam tunnel alterations. There are only a few Late Models and Sprint Cars here locally. Basically the locals here are preaty cheap and have no real clue of what the majority of the world spends on engine parts(It is like going back in time 10 yrs). I never had this problem when I lived in Denver, CO. To date I have not had any broken main caps, usually they try to use a stock connecting rod and it breaks.

Im very very thankful of your guys's help and i thank you very much I figure ill just do what it takes to splaid my block I can get the caps from Barnett Performance that are ductile iron for 80 dollars for the set of 3. What do you guys think is a good price to install them in a higher end shop?

Im very very thankful of your guys's help and i thank you very much I figure ill just do what it takes to splaid my block I can get the caps from Barnett Performance that are ductile iron for 80 dollars for the set of 3. What do you guys think is a good price to install them in a higher end shop?


We use only flat bottom caps as they are much easier to install we get 125.00 to machine the register and drill and tap for splayed outer bolts, To line bore the 3 center caps is 125.00 and to finish with a line hone is 160.00.

Its a good idea to have the cylinders sonic tested for thickness before all that work is done to your block and we charge 40.00 for that, But if we were doing all the work on the block we don't charge for the procedure. A sonic test can be done in less then 10 minutes and the block does not have to be cleaned either.

Good luck with your build