/6 198 rods needed badly

Keeping piston speed up on a street engine wins every time. A shorter rod does it. There are benefits and drawbacks to each type. Small block chebbies have rod ratios in the 1.5 range. Anybody with any sense will not argue against what a great little street engine the SBC is. I used to think a greater ratio was good for everything too until I did a lot of reading on the subject. You'd do well to do the same.