Re: 392 block was 345 block

["Tom Harais" <tjhemh@domain.elided>]

John:

"Race car tolerances" are what hot-rodders were always looking for. Hence,
the shop and my "gear-head" freinds are on the same wavelength. It is
expensive. It was known as "blue printing" and still is as far as I know.
Although your street engine may never see the severe use that a race engine
would, the concept was that "blue printing" a street engine would provide a
much longer service life as well as "beef" the engine enough that it could
stand the higher horsepower being made with high compression pistons,
radical cam lifts & overlap and wild intake and exhaust systems. 

Interestingly enough, in 1970, a 400 HP (brake) street engine took
thousands of dollars to build and usually, due to radical cams, wasn't easy
to drive. It would have been a big block as well and it's real world life
was probably about 50,000 miles.

Now, to show you where technology has gone, you can buy factory stock
street cars that produce 400 HP from a small block (net - not brake! -
which means even more than 400 HP brake!). They have standard warranties
and your grandmother could drive one. They are docile everyday drivers
until you open them up.

That development is absolutely awsome. I am sure that tighter machining
tolerances (due to advances in the equipment as well as technique) has
something to do with the automaker's willingness to sell such hi po 
vehicles and provide standard warranties on them.

Tom H.