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So its just a matter of determining if there's a good reason not to go the extra cubes. Brandon at 440Source says there should be no issue with the compression height of the 528 combo.

If, given the same combo of parts, a 512 made more torque and hp than a 528 then that would be a good reason !!!



No, there are other reasons. Those being overall packaging, required support items like carbs, intakes, heads, and headers, plus things like wear on a street car. In this case, the 4.25 is about it in terms of mild head choices. The RPMs need a bit of work to make really good numbers on that combo. OOTB RPMs will just be enough. The longer stroke for the 528 package means you MUST have better heads. Meaning cash outlay. Add tothat the larger carb, the roller cam because solid flat tappets for something that large will be on the raged edge of usable in a street car, the tall intake and Dominator carb, the 2 1/8 or special raised port headers... It's not making overall most power. But the one that will make it in your car with the hood closed and exhaust on it. Ad to that the street part and wear should be taken into account. The shortest piston you want to last is 1.485. Shorter than that and you are counting miles in thousands, not tens of thousands. And, you cannot run a tight quench because they rock so much. Plus, more than likely the block will be trashed after that because the bores will be worn out. A 600hp/600tq "mild" 505 (the 512 kit in a .030 over block) is more than enough for most people and will last very, very well. Sometimes someone wants more but I find for the most part the ones that ask for "X" horsepower or "xxx cubic inches" for their cruise night or street car, have no experience with what an oldschool true 600hp feels like to drive on the street or what it takes to reach it. All I would say is keep the total picture in view. I know a few 440+.030 rebuilds that will walk all over others' 499" or larger engines because the larger ones are simply not supported well enough.

Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water! And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... Now you tell me what you know.