451 stroker, cut the crank or block?

I can appreciate sweeping up all the parts one has lying around to make something useful, but why build a 451 when a .040" over 440 (448CI) is basically the same thing? Plus you get a better rod/stroke ratio. The added expense of fitting the crank and getting custom rods and pistons doesn't seem worth it to me. Maybe the short rod and smaller piston is a bit lighter but you can get some pretty nice light weight pistons for a 440, and since you are going to rebuild it anyway.... For a 6-6500 RPM street/strip engine a basic 440 should be good enough.

Anyway, for the 451 build I would think you would want to cut the block rather than the crank to preserve the journal overlap, plus I thought there is plenty of material in the block (.062" per side to be removed) unless the block casting won't allow it for some reason. I also know there are plenty of 451's running with cut down cranks without issues so I guess it doesn't matter. Just my thoughts.