426 stroker, is it reliable?

There is simply no way that any engine with a piston that is 1.5" compression distance can last long term. Most engines can only be expected to last about 25K miles... but in a car that is only driven sparingly, that'sa long time. In the northeast you're talking several years... The problem isnt the ring lands. It's the lack of shirt. So the rings simply cannot remain stble for the 80K miles a factory engine can. If longevity is the goal, then I'd say build a 360. You could also try a different crank, a shorter rod, and a taller piston. But it gets MUCH more expensive for things like SBC rods and crank pin sizes that are non-standard.