Bought a low deck aftermarket block how big can you go

Bought “The Block” in low deck and wanted to know how big have you guys gone with it? 540, 557, 572? Any combos out there?

I have an Indymaxx low deck thats currently ay 455 cubes. I rev to 8k with Ross pistons & Molnar crank n rods. Larry Smith ported heads, on pumpgas im running 9.0 @150mph. Ive beaten this block for 15 years, im thinking of building another @ 540 cubes, the extra 95 cubes has to run me into the low 8's. I'd be keen to hear of some bigger inch reliable builds on this size block too.

What are your heads 440-1? What do they flow? What is the weight on your car ready to race? Gear ratio and size of tires? Cam? Overall combo?

440-1 386cfm
1248kgs with my fat ass in the pilots chair,
4.8 gears,33" slick
6700 stall 727.

The low deck blocks limits how much stroke you can safely use while still having some of the piston still in the bottom of the bore at bottom dead center.
I've built two 400 block stroker motors with 4.300 stroke, one I ran the heck out of on the street on pump gas, the other one is one of my new race motors that hasn't been ran yet
It did have wear marks on the bottom of all the piston skirts on the first motor but there wasn't any measurable wear on the skirts below where the wear marks where the skirts where hanging out the bottom of the cylinders That motor had hundreds of runs on it and 3000+ street miles on it when I sold it, I had freshen twice and it ran really good I used a set of 7.800 long BB Chevy type rods with a set of Ross custom dish pistons in the first motor, one of the member on here who use to run a automotive machine shop in Florida saw a picture of one of those pistons and called them Hockey pucks My new race 400 block 4.300 stroke motor has a set of Molnar 6.700 long BB Chevy type rods in it with a set of custom made Diamond pistons for racing on E85
If I was you I would not go beyond a 4.375 stroke in a low deck block
IHTHS

I have a production 400 block with a 4.500 crank,6.53 rods and flat tops,4.375 bore,comes out to 540

MAN you must be a BIG boy.


1248 KILOGRAMS

=

2751.3227513228 POUNDS

I built a low deck (9.980) KB aluminum block at 540 CID.
4.500" bore
4.250" stroke
6.535" long rods
1.32 " piston compression height

I am sure a 4.50" stroke could be put in that block.

Good info. I wanted to see if someone with a similar combo would chime in. I would only be building a naturally aspirated engine for bracket racing. I do want to build as much hp and torque as I can and for it to be reliable. I’ve seen people in the board say they have a 557 low deck I just want know how reliable are they? Or is it better just to build a 540.

opps fat fingers, 1148 kgs thats 2531lbs. I'm 92 kgs so thats 203lb so that puts the car 2328lb curb weight. Not too bad for an E body with an interior.

Who did you get "The Block" from? How was the whole process?

2531 lbs, I can only dream of being 815 lbs lighter at race weight.
Doug

I got it directly from bulldog performance. I dealt with Richard BRADSHAW. I had heard different stories from the guy some good others bad but from my experience I order the block and he delivered. Zero problems! 😃

How big. Our family dragster had a 572" Low Deck in it, 4.50" stroke and 4.50" bore. GRP rods, raised cam block crower crank Cp pistons. Made 1025hp and we never got to run it wide open with all the timing and the big carb as it was faster than my son is licensed to go. The car was capable of 7.20's in Vegas in the heat of the summer. So we ran it with a small carb and pulled a TON of timing from it.

My block does not have a raised cam Al? Would that be a problem? What size were your rods? What were the specs on that 572? Would my block without the raised cam be a good choice for a 572 or is it just better to build a 557 or 540?

How fast do you want to go and how much work and money do you want to spend on the car?
How much does it weigh and how good is the chassis?
Many things to keep in mind when planning new race motors and cars
I have one high nickel Koleno 4.500 bore iron block in stock and it will get a Bryant 4.375 stroke old top fuel crank in it with BB Chevy rod journals and B1-MC heads ran N/A on E85 to try and run top Sportsman in NHRA I have a new KB RB aluminum block on order so I can use a old KB 4.500 stroke crankshaft that I have that could not be offset stroked so I will use it to build a motor around that crankshaft.
Stupid me, I know better than to do this type of build
I recently bought a used set of original B1 heads for this build so maybe it will turn it, the KB motor, into a pump gas motor

I don't see a raised cam being a doable thing, especially with an aluminum rod. But never tried it honestly...

FWIW the low deck in my Cuda was only a 4" stroke 525" deal and it ran pretty well. I don't think 4.5" is something most should do, but it can be done. I honestly would likely do a 540" deal with a STD cam block. It is a good combo and will require nothing "unusual" for the combo and should run well

I want to make as much power as I can with my indy 440-1 hand ported heads. They flow 356 at 700 and around 370 at 800. I know I wont make what you guys with B-1 Mc are making. But I want to build a good foundation and make a strong reliable bracket engine. My goal is to make 900hp with my heads. I can always upgrade my heads later. I don't have the budget for new heads right now. I already had a 499 ci and will be reusing my heads and pushrods, lifter. My car is a 69 road runner that weighs 2947 with the 499 ready to race with me in it. Chassis is ladder bar in the back and struts in the front. The suspension can take the 900 hp goal.

Anyone that wants to share their 572 low deck combo or 557?

My 514 race engine made 900 hp with ported EZ heads and a single 4bbl. That engine spent a lot of time on the dyno to get there, but once we figured it out the recipe wasn't hard to follow. You should be able to do it with -1 heads if they have good ports. You'll need a ported intake, a big Dominator, lots of compression and a big cam. I think you'll need Jesel rocker arms to hit 900 hp and if it was me I'd use a Jesel belt drive and a belt drive distributor since those things just make it easier to work on the engine.

If it was me I'd go with 4.500 bore size and a 4.250 crank. That gives you 540 inches and it should go together really easy. Lots of vendors for the parts and good rings are available at that bore size. Shoot for 15:1 compression if you want to make 900 hp and run X16 gas.

Send the heads to Porter Racing so they can go thru them and advise you on the port work. They can also set you up with the right cam and valve train for 900 hp. Only intake that will work on a low deck is the Indy 400-3. It isn't a great intake out of the box so ship it to Wilson or to Fast Lane. Figure on $1000 for the port work but you'll need it to hit 900 hp.

Good luck and make sure you have about $20K in your check book before you start.

IMO a 540 seems to me to be the best low deck combo going. Bang for the buck and nothing "exotic" needing to be used. I have done everything from a 470" to a 572" low deck. From Indy heads to B1MC stuff. 900 is a fairly lofty goal for most -1 combos and likely will not come cheaply. Buy the BEST parts you can afford and you will not regret it.

I already have a ported 400 intake. Mi Indy heads do have TD’s one shaft per cylinder.

What was your set up for 572 low deck Al?

Hugo, lots of guys like the 540, and they have good reason. It is about as big as you can go with a low deck and have a reasonable piston pin height, piston skirt still up in the bore to keep the piston stable. A local racer ran a 540 b1mc about 20 years ago, and made over 1000 reliable hp. And i think the reliability is what you will find out is the difference. Trust me, go for reliability. I didn't and spend way more time working on my motor than racing.
If it were my motor, i would go 540, B1Mc ported heads, and a cam custom ground with the intent of giving away the last possible 20 to 30 hp in favor of a cam that is VERYeasy on parts. You will probably be running this deal to almost 8,000 rpm, so plan for it to make it live.

Sent you a PM....

Thanks Greg but for now I’ll stay with my 440-1 in the future I’ll see if I can upgrade. Ido want reliability and maybe keep my rpms to around 7500or 7600.

I'd be surprised if you needed to turn it 7500 rpm. Peak power with -1 heads on a 540 with a 400-3 intake is probably in the 7000 range. Get the engine on the dyno and you'll know where the peak is. Knowing where the peak is will help you when it comes time for gears and converter.

What other intake can I use Andy? I have the Indy 400 intake for 4150 with a spacer for 4500. Is there another choice?
That’s what I have been using in my 499 and I shift at 6600 and go through the traps at 7350 in excellent weather. The 499 made max hp at 6400 but with a small roller cam 269 273. 696 lift. Headers were also small on the dyno.

If you are trying to hit 900 hp then I think you would need to start with a 400-3 rather than the 400-2 intake. Get a ported 400-3 and then dyno test them both. Keep the best one and sell the other one.

No love for the 440-3x?

To give you an idea of what your deal may run,
My combo is 528 cubes, 440-1ported heads, 3x intake (may not be the best-its big!) T erminater and Alky, 15/1 compression, 285/296/114 cam with .850 lift intake, .800 exhaust. Best ET at 3055 lbs is 8.76 at 153 mph, shifting at 74500 and 7350, trap 7400.

OP has a low deck engine.

Hugo, as a bench mark ; My best ET with 440-1 heads on a 528 is shifting at 7450. On the 1-2, 7350 2-3. As read off my data logger. My shifter is set for 7250, so when you pull the shifter it goes another 200 to 150 rpm. I doubt twelve more cubes would change that much. This is with a custom ground cam designed for the most hp.