500 vs 512 from 400ci

Some pros & cons of both set ups:
- cubes are so close that that should not be the decider
- short rod gives a longer piston, but it is also heavier. With so much heavy hardware [ crank ] flying around, lighter might be a virtue.
- much is made of side loading with shorter rods [ & the consequent R/S ratio ] , engine life, hp etc. The 454 Chev has one of the shortest r/s ratios in the common engines [ only beaten by the 400 SB Chev ] & they seem to make prodigious amounts of HP......& do not wear out quickly.