What is it, what is it worth, how good is it?

I have had this block for years, and now I am ready to use it, or sell it and get something better.
I took these of my block last night, I am trying to figure out if I would be better off selling it and buying an A460.  
People tell me these blocks aren't much good, and that a two bolt block with a 4 bolt conversion are just as good.
Then I read stuff about people making a 1000 horse with a 2 bolt block, it gets kind of confusing.  
If a person used the 4 bolt block for a stroker, what is the stroke limit with the shorter cylinders?

Ok I guess I can't do pictures, it's a D0VE-A block, 4 bolt, with CJ cast in the valley.

I'd clean it up , oil it down and hang onto it .. Sell it when you retire... Very few of them left.

Minnesota_Duane wrote:I have had this block for years, and now I am ready to use it, or sell it and get something better.
I took these of my block last night, I am trying to figure out if I would be better off selling it and buying an A460.  
People tell me these blocks aren't much good, and that a two bolt block with a 4 bolt conversion are just as good.
Then I read stuff about people making a 1000 horse with a 2 bolt block, it gets kind of confusing.  
If a person used the 4 bolt block for a stroker, what is the stroke limit with the shorter cylinders?

Ok I guess I can't do pictures, it's a D0VE-A block, 4 bolt, with CJ cast in the valley.

Probably around 4.600" with a 6.8oo" rod if a bunch of horsepower is going to be made.

IMO, offer it for sale to the restorer's market.

Dave.

My opinion i have seen them bored to 4.500 and later down the road a cylinder crack etc . Bottom line its not as good as an A460 block in several ways and holds a lot more value to a baby boomer restoring his numbers matching "cj" restoration / hot rod project.

What kind of value would you place on it?
It has been line honed and rough bored to see if it would clean up at .030 and it will. I'm not looking for a huge stroker motor but I would like to see a reliable fairly low maintance 800hp. Dreaming?

The price would depend on if its fresh and ready to assemble rather than need machine work. I bought one from a guy a few years back for $750 that was suppose to be ready to assemble,only to find out later that it needed 3 sleeves. Like Dave and Ky said it would be worth more to someone looking to restore a car.

800 horse, reliable, low maintenance? Not dreaming at all. I recently finished a 4.390 x 4.300 pump gas deal with (unported) TFS Streets that made 744 with a VERY conservative solid roller cam. You certainly dont need to use a 4 bolt anything (A460 or CJ) at that hp level.

fsc1982 wrote:800 horse, reliable, low maintenance? Not dreaming at all. I recently finished a 4.390 x 4.300 pump gas deal with (unported) TFS  Streets that made 744 with a VERY conservative solid roller cam. You certainly dont need to use a 4 bolt anything (A460 or CJ) at that hp level.

 
The subject is - value of the op's block.
 
not power that can be had from a given type of block.
being OT , your 800hp pump gas engine a dyno number are a should be hp from a program??

DanH, one of his thoughts was he was, "looking for 800 reliable hp". If so, "was he dreaming". Simply answering THAT inquiry. BTW, that figure is a Superflow dyno number. Don't do the desktop deal.

Dave C. wrote:I'd clean it up , oil it down and hang onto it .. Sell it when you retire... Very few of them left.

HMMMMM I wonder why People say that. I have 1 here in the garage sold a couple here a while back and am looking at another 1 as we speak, how much will you give me for 1 I will sell you 1 if you give me enough cash....Duane use it, it ain't that rare

That explains where they all went .. You're as bad as Jon and his bottles. Last count was 37 I think.

I think I have at least 8 to 10 4 bolt main ford blocks here, and probably 50 or so more 2 and 4 bolt chevy and other engines in storage, at last count I had 150 sets of matching heads of all brands last summer I spent 3 days and moved 97 short block assemblies to storage, so yeah I have been collecting things for a long time....have a few hundred tans also I know of at least 12 glides.....at last count and no they aren't for sale. when the time is right will sell.

Rare or not, they're hard to find and they command a decent price. That said, use the one you've got and enjoy it. Brag to people about it.

Interest in these engines and the cars they came in is on a steady decline....at least as far as factory parts are concerned. Save it for retirement and you'll be the crazy old guy with a bunch of worthless old junk nobody wants. If you use it now, and they end up being worth a mint when you're an old man, you'll be the bad-ass who actually ran that stuff before the suits turned them into unobtanium.

  

 
This is what a 4 bolt SCJ block looks like.  They are a lot better than a 2 bolt block but, I would not stick a 4-3/4" crank & 15:1 to it.
 
It's my 547" SCJ FRPP deal.

for price range theres one local to me dove 4bolt $900 freshly machined.
its .030 over but wont take more than a .060 overbore ,had it sonic'd
i passed on it.

I'll use it if they are fine for a stroker. I will have it checked to see how much it can be bored.  Thanks guys.