Im building a new engine and wanted to get some input on it.

the combo is
sbc 406 (3.75" stroke .030 over)
flat top piston with 5.4cc valve relief
6" rod
afr 195s with 74cc combustion chambers
comp 282xe (.520/.540 lift i think 244/252)
1.5 rockers

the deck is standard 9.025" on a new motown block.

the pistons are made for a block that has been zero decked to 9"

ive been reading i want my quench between .030-.045 for optimum performnace, but i coudl not achieve this without decking the block.

should i deck the block down a bit so i can get my quench in a good range, or should i look for pistons that are made for 9.025" deck height?

and lastly, should i be majorly concenrned with piston to valve clearance issues with my setup? i will check with clay when doing the mock up but would just like some ohter insight on this.

thanks in advance
rick

Almost all shelf pistons are for 9-9.010 deck & are assuming the standard felpro .039-.041 gasket.
I would just get the block decked to 9.005 if this is the gasket you are going to use.
You are a little limited on big bore gasket choices.
That will leave you a bit of room for "error",
If you have the parts put the thing together with a couple of main bearing & pistons without rings & check your deck to see where you are before wacking on the block ;)
or you can get pistons in any compression you want on special order but they get a bit pricy.

With tht cam you should have about a foot or so of clearance (well maybe a bit less :D ) but as always, check it.

hahaha a foot or so of clearance :D

thanks for the quick reply, i will mock up the setup and check things out of course, just trying to build the best combo for me out there heh.

thanks
rick

It is unfortunate that no one makes a shim gasket for the 400 block. This leaves decking as the only way to get a tight quench. A foot of V/P clearance sounds pretty darn conservative to me.

would there be any noticable power gain bumping up the compression with domed pistons? woudl i still have near half a foot of clearance?