Long story short, my '76 350 is going for it's 2nd rebuild. Second verse, same as the first. But this time around, should I have my block decked? it's never been decked before, as evident that the casting number pad on the driver(?) is still there and clearly legible. What is the normal amount that a 350 like mine would be decked? Block is original besides .030 overbore. The engine ran great and strong, before the cam bearing went bye bye, so is it necessary, or more of a piece of mind thing? Any help as always is appreciated.
Only reason to deck a block is to "square it up" OR to effectively bring the piston closer to the top for more compression. I had my block decked .050 but that "lowers" the heads and intake, which requires shorter pushrods, and the intake side of the heads to be milled. This build on mine I'm using Auto Tec pistons, you can order them in whatever compression height so decking isn't required.
I would say it depends on what piston and compression your trying to achieve. But bringing the Pistons closer to deck i feel take away some of the wasted burn space between chamber and top of piston. I say do it. Atleast gasket surface is fresh and true
could you stroke the crank to reduce deck clearance and end up with more cubes? or use longer rods. Hummmm. very interesting!