SB vs BB who wins?

Mean416 said

Ok so this is one I've been pondering for a bit. Just to preface, it's purely an academic exercise to see if I can learn something.

So, take a stroker SB of choice. Call it a 408. Could be 390, or 416. Now take a 383/400/or 413. No stroker big blocks, that's not in the spirit of the experiment.

Top these engines off with a decent set of heads. Nothing wild and exotic, but a good set of well prepped heads your typical dude might run. Appropriate and fairly equivalent supporting valvetrain, intake, exhaust, compression etc.

Which series engine would better, in terms of power and torque production, and why?

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One thing that requires consideration is end use. A light car for street, a car for racing or a work truck for towing.
For a street car my pick goes SB. For racing pick your poison. For a work truck, BB every time. A SB 408 can be built to produce pretty much the same torque and power as a BB 400 or 413. But which is more likely to last? There is a reason that heavy duty and industrial engines are heavy. Lots of cast iron to safely disipate vibrations without cracking. When big industrial engines crack, it is usually in the heads due to heat cycling and running at 90%+ power for days.
Heat cycling in a running engine you ask. Yup. When a cylinder fires, whether diesel or natural gas, the surfaces are subjected to high heat. Then it cools again slightly during the exhaust and intake strokes. Certain areas are prone to cracking, generally between valves or a valve and the injector or spark plug.