For a stock block...(340)

Is it stronger to go with a girdle or a set of 4 bolt main caps??

If its a new set of caps, what brand ??
The total cost of the caps and align bore a lot more $$$ than going with the girdle ??

Is it possible to go with a girdle AND new caps??

Generally speaking, using Arp Studs with the stock caps will work just fine up the power level a stock 340 block can take. I probably wouldnt spend the money on upgrading any further from this.

How fast do you want to go? Lots of guys running 9's with stock 2 bolt blocks.
Turning a stock block into a 4 bolt main block weakens the block.

I agree,there isn't enough material in a stock small block to drill and tap for the extra bolts without weakening it.
Keith

Stud it and you will blow a cylinder wall before a main cap.

I went with a Milodon 4 bolt main cap w/studs set up on my 408 stroker motor ( Stock 360 block 1/2 filled ). I thought the washer shim set up with the girddles was kinda hooky. FYI, If you go with studs, check for oil pump clearance.

I love it when people put in studs and then go nuts because of the of interferance of the stud and oil pump. Like I can not cut off wheel the excess stud length and use a washer style 12 piont nut to make clearance. If you don't over heet the stud during cut off, what did you hurt or change?

uhm...I think he just said to check for it, how is that going nuts?

Jr. when you have been on here as long as I have and have read the number of post about this that I have, then jump my case. I was really just trying to tell him how to solve what for sure was going to happen. Like have the special nut ready.

When I pulled this rusty ole hulk out of my beater it had 4 bolt caps already...

ARP studs

Don't waste any money on 4 bolt caps on a stock block or those girdles. Money can be better used elsewhere.

If you feel the need to 4 bolt a stock block or use one of those worthless girdles, you need to invest in a better block.

The girdles are, as previously stated, pretty much useless. They don't address the manner in which main caps flex. The main bearing housing tends to want to oblong towards the ground and the girdle can't do anything to stop it because it isn't in contact with the center of the cap. Now if someone made a cap that was flat across the top and the girdle could be bolted flat across the tops of the caps, that would actually do something. Now onto the four bolt main caps. The only ones I know anything at all about are the Pro-Gram caps. They use a small 3/8" bolt on the splayed portion that doesn't take out much in the way of material. You might question how much strength the little 3/8" bolt adds, but you need to consider the way the splayed bolts help strengthen things to begin with. There needs to be an air gap on the outer portion of the caps. When the outer bolts are torqued down it pre-stresses the cap as it pulls the sides of the caps down to the block surface. If it's already "stressed" then it tends to not want to flex when you're running the engine. Granted, you're still limited to the strength of the stock block, but I do believe the splayed Pro-Gram caps will add strength to the bottom end. The main issue I see now is cost. When I did all this to my 360 block, the options were somewhat limited and the cost was prohibitive. Now you can find aftermarket blocks that come with four bolt mains and extra material in the block to go along with it. I say weigh the pros and cons. If you're making enough power that a studded two bolt isn't sufficient you may want to consider stepping up to a better block. And girdles... well I like what a teacher once told me about girdles on a pontiac: it's just one more thing you'll have to pick up off the track when it blows up.

My vote is for aftermarket 2 bolt caps with arp studs.
My 416 w5 stroker had really bad capwalk with stock caps.

Been running 340 and 360 stock blocks along time. They all show cap walk. I never use bolts.
Motors running 12.50's to 10.00's

I may run an engine 1 year or 3-4 years before taking motor out. I have been shocked to find caps # 2, 3, and 4 cracked in two near the driver side stud hole. This has happened 3 times maybe out of 10 blocks.
When I took them apart they were still screamin.

SO, Maybe go with the aftermarket 2 bolt main caps and not the girdle??
Definitely not the splayed 4 bolt on a stock block tho ?

The new motor is a Ohio Crankshaft stroker with my 53 cc W-2. High compression bad boy.

here's what we ran on our stock 340 block W4 mill...

we will have small block aluminum and steel main caps in stock shortly.