everyone has opinions, many have valid points and some vary. here are mine which i won't say are any more valid than the next.
first though one would think moving a heavy car is harder work for the engine i don't, work is force times distance. now for a given HP output in a heavier car the engine WILL be providing that same force for a longer period of time which we can say is more duty.
obviously throwing money at an engine is no assurance that it will survive but we can all get caught up in false economy as well. yes a good aftermarket block will cost you more but how much will you have saved if the stock block fails and puts you in the wall or worse? getting a stock block whittled into respectable shape for racing isn't cheap and when you're all done you still have a 40+ YO passenger car block designed for a lot less HP then we're talking here. as one poster pointed out there was a time when there were few if any other options but again as mentioned that time has passed.
each person is an individual and the amount of money they can afford to spend will vary dramatically. if you plan on putting a lot of laps on it running it hard then a stock block can very well be a liability.
i agree that people have gotten away with using stock blocks but how often do posters come here and ask how far they can go with their aftermarket block?
