[fia#09]

Andy, lots of opinions, how about this one from Mustangs and Fast Fords, March 2001, article: Stroker Theory. "Blocks-- a better choice for an all out race engine is a Boss block or the Ford Racing A4 or R-302 block. The Boss and the Ford Racing blocks feature ...are... beefier and designed to make well over 850 horsepower." After all the reading, etc, I am content that my Boss is one of the strongest bottom ends Ford ever made. Another consideration would be to duplicate the 70 Trans Am motors, they won the championship on 10:1 compression, and if my memory serves me correctly, they went the entire season without a single engine failure. Also, I have a 69 motor with the cross drilled crank, which is generally recognized as the best crank ever in a small block Ford. In all my research I never heard of a crack failure. There is nothing wrong with sleeving a block, so long as its done correctly. All aluminum blocks have sleeves--Porsche, Nissan, Ferrari, Corvette, on and on. All that you need to know is that it was done correctly. Incidentally, my machine shop told me that a Boss crank weighs about 10lbs more that the standard 289/302 crank. If that block were available here, I would snap it up for the right price in a minute. The Boss parts have high intrinsic value to the collectors--insurance for you against depreciation.