Taco, hopefully we're not the above mentionned "pricks"..lol. To continue, the problem with the RB block is in it's casting. There is a thin area at the top of the upper main saddle, that is prone to cracking under stresses of high compression, high rpm, and/or high horsepower levels. You can overcome this by partially filling the block with Hardblock, and running an oil cooler if it's a street car (because of lost cooling system capacity). So, the block is now stable. But, you need compression and rpms to make 600hp out of 440. That means bigger port heads (SRs and SR-EZs can do this, Edelbrocks can too, all 3 will need some kind of port cleanup or porting to ge there. -1s can do it easier, but are a larger port, so you begin to loose torque. That's where the compression comes in. you need good static ratios to make max power, and keep the torque up. To make the engine rev, and live, you'll need either aluminum main caps, or aluminum rods to help absord the shock the higher static ratios produce. What happens is, the caps begin to walk around... For a primarily race very little street engine, 600+ at the crank, I'd use a B block, for the larger bore, and run steel 2 bolt caps, and aluminum rods. An aftermarket crank, and good, light pistons. Static compression of 12.5-13:1, with a tight quench, and ported -1 Indys. Bush the lifter bores, run a medium size street roller (so the springs stay alive) cam, and a Victor intake. You dont take a stock short block, and safely run that kind of power. That includes forced induction and NOS use. You can pump all the happy gas you want into a 906 headed 440, but eventually, the lower end will explode. And by that, I mean, if the pistons dont crack, and the caps can stay in place (which i doubt) and it doesnt mess up some bearings or bend a rod, it will over time, develop cracks in the main saddles, which will end up fracturing off the bores..That's a really big mess, as nothing including the cam ends up being able to be re-used. I dont recommend using a factory block of any kind over 650 hp. That's serious power, and takes a serious budget to do well, consistantly, and reliably. It is MUCH easier to add stroke, and expand the size. Making 1.2 hp per inch in a 496, can be made with pump gas, be streetable, and pull a taller gear with mountains of torque, than making 1.4hp per inch from a 440. The trick is the stroke. more leverage means more usable power. You dont need the light rods, or superlite pistons, or block fill, because the power is made at a lower rpm, so the block doesnt have to deal with the added stresses of high revs. Of course, to get thee 800hp and higher levels, all that stuff will need to be done on a stroker too..lol. So how fast did you want to go again?
