Originally Posted By Jamie McGrath
Originally Posted By GTX MATT
Originally Posted By Jamie McGrath
Even with a girdle? Those little SB chebbys and fords seem too be holding up...


This is what I never understand, ask a MoPar guy on here how much a stock block can handle and they will tell you 600 HP. Ask a Chevy guy and they will tell you small and big blocks can take anywhere from 800-1000 HP. I have trouble believing that, and its not a "I'm a MoPar guy so I think they're better" thing. Look at both blocks and tell me which appears stronger, besides the fact that the MoPar stuff has geometry and slower piston on its side. I was also under the impression that Chrysler blocks were cast of a better content iron, but I'm not really sure. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Chevy stuff is pretty durable, much more so than the BOP stuff, and its obvious when you look at the stuff and hold it in your hands. But i'd really just like to get a real, unbiased answer and explanation as to why.

And the Ford stuff don't even get me started, 10 head bolts?!


Yea, I'm in the same quandary..... I thought that centrifugal blowers ramped up the boost as the rpms climbed much like a turbo so they were softer on the bottom end parts? What am I missing? The boost doesn't just slam in like a nitrous system does.


The cross-bolted production Hemi and especially the aftermarket big Mopar blocks are substantially better than the standard 2 bolt block. In my opinion the Chevy style 4 bolt main block styles are even better from an engineering standpoint. A stud girdle simply doesn’t upgrade a block to the equivalent of a cross-bolted or 4 main block.

While abrupt “hammering” type loads are harder on parts, there is point where even a “smoother” load is too much. There just isn’t enough material or fasteners in the bottom of a stock 2 bolt Mopar block once the power reaches a certain point.

If I could go back in time and there were one thing I could change on a stock big block Mopar it would be the main cap arrangement and the associated weakness. If there were 2 things I would spread the bores.