Stroking theory question
you want something that will make more than 10 passes down the strip also.
if you are spending big dolla, you want the engine to be survivable
the thing that made 340's shine is that with a solid lifter cam you could spin 'em pretty high. and they held together. more than one weekend of fun. no they didnt make all the hp/tq the hemi or 440's made, but they were fine for week after week street cruisin' and strip & made a name for themselves that way.
nowadays if you are talking BIG hp/tq from a small block you are pretty much talking forced induction. then again, you want a sturdy bottom end not weak
if you want to stroke to the moon for a naturally aspirated engine, people just use big blocks or gen2 hemis, if they have money they get them with wide cylinder spacing (aftermarket blocks) so they can go real big on bores too.
a lot of people just settle for a 408 small block and are happy with that. holds together well if you use the right components. cheaper by far than a gen2 and can last for years and years.