To Stroke, or not to Stroke

The 505/512 kit is the best choice for a street RB. The pistons are tall enough to stay stable for 20-30K miles, and for most of us that means 8-10 years of summer use. The B version of this kit uses the ultra short pistons, and I agree it's not worth doing for a street application. The 440 you have is an RB, the 400 is a B. The reason the prices go up is the parts that are needed to support that big stroke. You can build a 500" engine and run a tiny cam an heads, but you spent a bit of money making an industrial engine, because a car needs power over a wider range. By undrivable I mean you have to be very careful on the throttle, and if it's wet out, park it. It's cool to drive, but they can be a handful if you're the type to play on the street. I've grown to appreciate a good balance of power and drivability. It's rough having a Honda pull away from you on the on ramp because you cant give it throttle in a turn without the car kicking out. The heads are simply too small even in medium ported form to support this engine over 4K rpm. I use RPMs for ease and cost for most of my stuff. but even they are just enough. More stroke means it wants more air. More coming in means more going out. So big carbs, big headers, and tall intakes are the norm, and those engines behave like a smaller milder plant. The camshafts also need to be larger, but they dont behave like larger cams. I run 250° @ .050 as a mild one. That 590hp one is 268°@.050 and 280°@.050 with lifts around .600. It idles at 850rpm and can run pump 89 at 10.8:1. And it fits the factory shaker on this car. I try to convice B engine guys to stay at 3.915 stroke max. That keeps a good amount of power and a tall enough piston to last a while. It also runs well with the RPM heads in mild form. The RB, go 4.25 stroke, but I'd run SR-EZs and the Indy dual plane with at least 950cfm Holley HP as a base intake, the Victor Edelbrock as a good 2nd. None of which will fit under an A body hood...lol. Again, my opinions and we all got 'em. Call Brandon and talk to him. I use a minimum if 1.480" compression height on a piston. Less than that, and it's not going to last and I can't build in tight quench.