Early 318 blocks

cpearce said

The reason I bring this topic up at all is there is a shop in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada that was building 434 small block strokers using early 318 blocks, I know this to be fact. These engines were run hard at the track and survived well. I am continuing to try to contact the gentlemen, just thought I would throw it out to my friends at FABO and learn from their experiences.

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Well, as more than one person has stated, it's not a bad thing to do, as long as you cover all the bases with good prep work, including sonic testing. As long as the cylinders are centered in the casting good, the water jackets will probably be thick enough.

One thing I have read.......and @krazykuda can probably confirm this, since he has worked for Chrysler, the "dash" blocks are not as good......and the higher the "dash number" is supposed to mean that's how many batches were used in a typical mold. In other words, an engine with a "-1"after the "318" casting in the block is "supposedly" better than one with a higher dash number. The later dash numbers were supposedly more prone to core shift.

At least that's what I've heard and read for years. Karl will know for sure, as he worked in the engine department. But, even with a low dash number......or not one at all, you still should sonic test before you bore that far. That's a BIG cut.

As long as everything checks out good, have at it.