decking my block?

[jcunningham57]

I need some input on if I should deck my block or spend the money on a new set of heads.I have a stroked lt1 w/ the cast iron heads.Ive already decked the heads .050 and ported the best i can with a dremmel.At TDC I have .042 clearance to the top of the block.I guess what my ? is ,is that if I run at zero deck and 050 off my heads is my comp going to be to high? thanks for any input.cant wait to get mine on the road

[Melonhead]

Try this site. (http://www.csgnetwork.com/compcalc.html) You can see if zero deck will be too much. Put in all your variables and see what you get.

[jcunningham57]

good info everyone here is great!!!!!!!!!

[spacecadet]

When I rebuilt my last motor I had the block decked. Not to raise compresion but because the deck wasn't straight. He milled enough off to true it so that I could run 015 headgaskets safely.

As for the the heads vers decking. Its your call. Heads are a bolt on. And should obtain good results easily. However, If you deck now, next year you can add better heads next year.



The calc Melonhead gave you is a good one. I have used it before and think the results there are real close to what they would be for real.



Just my 2 cents ....

Space

[rudedogg]

at this point i would definately have the block checked,if it is not flat you will pop the headgaskets.blowing a headgsket on a chevy is just rediculous!

make sure it is sqaure,if it needs deck work then go for it,i prefer a O-deck especially on Lt1s compression is your friend and if you have more compression than you really want you can always use a straight pattern cam to bleed off a bit...... 230/230 540/540 113 comes to mind http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif

[Scotty_S-15]

And to take all this a step further, and without getting crazy techinical, decking the block to a particular figure has added performance advantages than simply raising compression ratio.

........ That is, the "squish" area between the piston and head needs to about .040 to .050 on a normal engine for good performance. Daring guys go tighter. Many factors, like aluminum rods, etc. can effect the desired clearance. Only decking the block, and choice of head gaskets can change this clearance. Milling the heads obviously won't.