Mill decisions

If you're into Fords, the factory block splitting should be known to you. Like, in half, down the cam bore? Mopars dotn have that. But, they do have issues with cylinder wall integrity, and the limited main possibilities. You say the R3 is out with no room to debate. So my response is, if you ever actually reach your goal, the block wont hold anyway. Not to mention that really, the best heads are for 48° blocks. Four bolt caps are a cool look, but there's not enough meat for them to really help, and in fact, will weaken the main areas of the block. Cylinder walls are notoriously thin. So huge NOS loads, and long strokes with short pistons, lead to failures. For the money you will put in to a factory block, you can buy a much better peice. By that I mean sonic test, sleaving as needed, cap replacement and fitting, 1/2 filling and the oil mods and cooler, boring, honing, squardecking and studs. You're over $2800 in labor and parts. Buy a block. You want to build a 5 story brick building on a wood foundation.