349 CI on the cheap
Jack,
He doesn't want to run the small 318 rods unless they are the truck or HD units and at that point they will be 360 rods. The cheapest way to do this engine is to get a stock replacement piston and cut about .075 off the top and this will put you about .010 below deck. This way the compression won't be too high and the cam won't need any valve to piston clearencing.
I'm trying to finish up the 344 engine but I machined the pistons differently as to have compression, and used small chamber heads. My compression ratio works out to be 14.96:1, then with 107 OL cam and the cylinder pressure comes out to be 180 psi.. With all the tricks that I could find and use the engine on the computer aided design (CAD) system shows 638 HP @ 6500 RPM and 542 TQ @ 5000 RPM. This should be enough engine to get me where I need to be in S/ST NHRA. I wnat this engine in and running this Saturday so I can test it on Sunday. But this is if the weather holds out as there forcasting rain on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.