i have a 71 malibu 350sb which i believe is 2 bolt, Im eventually going to build a 383( around 450 horse or more) hopefully. would my 2 bolt be able to handle this amount of horsepower or would i need to find another 4 bolt block? thanks

Originally posted by Brian71malibu:
i have a 71 malibu 350sb which i believe is 2 bolt, Im eventually going to build a 383( around 450 horse or more) hopefully. would my 2 bolt be able to handle this amount of horsepower or would i need to find another 4 bolt block? thanks =
Yes, a 2 bolt block is just fine ;)
Use studs, be sure the caps are tight from side to side (snap into the registers), check the main bore sizes, mag it & you should be fine,

I had a 406 studded 2 bolt 600hp motor still alive and well.

You can always buy a kit and make it a 4 bolt main. It'll be stronger then a "stock" 4 bolt main. I believe Melling/Miloden and various other maufactures sell the kit.

i'm going to have a main girdle installed on my 500+ horsepower 385 2-bolt block instead of the more expensive main cap conversion... graemlins/angry.gif as soon as i can find the darn product noone seems to offer.

Worry more about the year of the block than whether it is a 4bolt or 2 bolt. Like was said use studs the 71 block is still a good one.