Quote:

Standard LA small block deck height is 9.56 so even your shortest side is 0.030 too high. At 9.56 the piston/rod combo you wish to use would have a positive deck height, ie. the piston would stick up out of the block assuming that the 9.583 # is correct for zero deck. In the FWIW dept. I personally don't care to go for absolute zero deck.I prefer to have the piston .005 in the hole. My reasoning goes like this: with a standard .039 thick gasket you will still have excellent quench and the compression loss is minimal. You will also have something to work with in case you have a head gasket failure that results in etching of the block surface. With a true zero deck any deck damage that may occur will not only require a clean up cut to the decks but you may well have to mill every piston top as well in order to maintain sufficient piston to head clearance.



well even if my block is higher than standard specs the piston/rod combo I chose is still shorter than what it currently is. I was actually thinking of getting the block milled to 9.585" and the deck height of the rotating assembly at 9.853" still so that I drop the compression ever so slightly and don't run any risk of detonation on the 94 octane pump gas here. Using a .039" gasket with good quench I have seen people say that 10.5:1 is acceptable with premium pump gas, but with how much im going to street drive I don't want to chance having to mix fuel.

thanks for this info btw!