Hey guys what do you think? I'm building a 496 that should make around 650-700 hp. It will be going into a street car. Should I use a 3999289 2 bolt or go with a 14015445 4 bolt? I heard that the 3999289 casting is suppose to be one of the thickest blocks. Not sure about the 14015445.
Depends on the year of the 5445 block, the last couple of years (89 & 90, I think), they're supposed to be thick, others are run-of-the-mill, nothing special.
The 289 is supposed to be a hoss, but I don't know that I've ever seen proof of it.
Get them both sonic checked and go from there. I have seen 298 blocks with core shift that ended up being junk, and 445 blocks that were super thick. You can never judge a block by the casting numbers.
Regards, Arlo
First of all, thanks guys for all the great advice. So, I guess what I'm hearing from you guys is that casting numbers aren't as important as the core thickness in the block. So do you guys know if the 445 blocks have a high nickel content like the 289 blocks? Or is that something not to be concerned about either?
I would guess that the older blocks had some what of a higher or "better" nickle content. Again, that's just a guess. I do know that the older 4 bolt main caps had a casting number of 964 on them, whereas the newer (445) blocks main caps had casting number 335. Everyone seems to want the 964s when they are converting a 2 bolt block to 4 bolt. Prices on E-bay seem to reflect that the 964s are harder or better than the 335s in some way.
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