To clam the launch, you will want to loose the stroke. But, if you do, you may need to completely re-think the driveline to take advantage of that different power curve. I'm not sure what your uasge and budget are. I'm keeping this as a bracket racer, no street, with a price of $8000. I dont think a small valve 318 is the ticket. I know a lot of guys like the idea, but truth is, a short stroke/short rod engine wants to mvoe a lot of air at speed. And that's doen better with better heads. So, with that in mind, my idea would be: An early 318 (prior to '71) that is sonic tested. Most of those blocks are much thicker than even a 340 block. The better wall thickness, the more power at rpm. Go with a 3.94 bore notched, 3.31 stroke, use a custom Diamond FT piston, K1 H beam rods, Callies Dragonslayer crank. Have the block's mains studded, and I'd replace the caps with Program Steel 2 bolt caps. Static compression in the 11.5:1 area. In terms of oil control, I would O/S the main feeds, plug the front connecting passage do the cross over, and I would want to bush the lifter bores, instead of tubing the galleys. That's a power producing mod...Instead of doing something to stop lifter bleed and not correcting the lifter angles. I would to the crossover tube. That mod helps the oil feed the mains smoother. It would have a crankshaft scraper and a deep pan, not a windage tray. I would also use a camshaft with the #4 bearing surface grooved, and restrict the oil to the heads to relieve the pulsing the factory top end oiling does. That kind of shortblock will run in the $3800-4200 range. So, For heads, I'd go with the tried and true RPMs, but I would have them ported and chambers reduced to 52cc. Not hoged out, but they will need a little work to make peak horsepower at 7K on a 'teen. The LA rocker systems are easy to work with, and fairly cheap. The EQ type/RPM Magnum heads would be in the running, but the money required to make the rocker train stable at higher valve spring tensions simply doesnt make sense to me on a bracket engine. If you tube the block, a solid flat tappet would work. Personally, I'd go with a solid roller for power and ease of maintenance but the block needs the bushings. I dont think Crane rockers would last under that heavy a spring. So I'd either go stainless, or Harland Sharps, in any case..1.6 ratio. I would lean to the MP M1 single plane for an intake. Probably with some mild work, and at least 1.5" of spacer. A Holley HP 750, and whatever you have for cooling, ignition, etc. Also dont forget the SFI balancer... You REALLY dont want a stock type non SFI on there at 7K rpm. I dont think 500+hp at 7K is out of the question. And it will live for many seasons with minimal attention.
