It seems the discussion is absent of head concerns. While there are now a bunch of SBF heads available at one time a long rod helped compensate for poor head flow. I'm curious as to how that plays out now with the better heads. I think any suggestion that it is a waste of time is pretty arbitrary. I hope he does the build. The dynamics of the engine are related and disparaging comments are mostly based on "beliefs" and little hands on experience. Been around long enough to see about every "myth" about HP/Torque proven erroneous.
Good luck, I'd still check Speedomotive. They are less than $1000 for the kit and could likely tell you what pistons they use. I mean as a prospective buyer, isn't that something you would want to know....
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