Don't fall into "Gotta Haves"

 I talk to people all the time who spend unnecessary money on very expensive parts they don't need because they listened to some self-proclaimed "Expert".  Some examples. I have built, driven and raced small-block Chevys for over 30 years. Every time you read a magazine article about building one, they list a bunch of "Gotta Haves." "You gotta have a 4-bolt main block." "You Gotta Have a Forged Steel Crank." "You gotta have forged pistons." "You Gotta have screw-in studs in the heads." And a bunch more "Gotta haves" I can't remember.  Their half-right.  If your building a Nextel Cup NASCAR engine that has to turn 7,800 rpm for 500 miles at Daytona, yes, you need all the beef you can get. But, if your building a street machine, drag racer, or even a short-track roundy-rounder-i.e.- your tracks are 1/4 to 5/8 mile and your "Main events" are 35 or 50 laps, these "Experts" are full of crap. For drag racers-depending on class- your running hard for what- anywhere from 11 to 14 seconds? On a circle-track car on a typical 1/4 mile paved or dirt-track, even a 50 lap "Main Event" is only 12.5 miles. Two-bolt main blocks are fine for this kind of use. So are cast cranks, as long as revs don't go over 6,500 rpm. Cast pistons are fine. I've seen them last two whole seasons in an IMCA race car, so you should get plenty of wear in a street machine or "Hobby stock" racer. I would only recommend forged pistons if you were planning to run a blower or nitrous. And then my question is, if you have that much money and need to go that fast, obviously in some "unlimited" or "outlaw" class,  why aren't you building a 454 instead of a 350? In all my years of racing, I have never seen a stud pull out of a head, pressed in or screw-in. I have seen rocker arm failure, pushrod failure, valve spring failure, and timing chain failure, but I have never in 33 years seen a stud pull out of a head and cause someone to lose a race.  This extends to other parts and other makes. "You gotta have a 9 inch Ford Rearend."  "Their the toughest in the business." Again, in NASCAR going 200 mph for 500 miles, they don't want a bearing failure, or in a non-full-floater, an axle breakage at 200 mph that could wreck the car. However, in a drag race or circle track I've NEVER,EVER, seen anyone break a Chrysler 8 3/4 rear end.  Even with slicks and a manual trans, and popping the clutch on a 500 hp 440 a 4,500 rpm! But according to the "experts" that additional 1/4 inch on the ring gear makes a huge difference!!  Ditto for GM products. And I'm not talking the revered "12 Bolt" rear end.  I'm talking the 10 bolt that was in hundreds of thousands of GM cars from 1970-81. I have owned 400, 4-speed Trans-Ams and dropped the clutch at 3,500-4,000 rpm incessantly for five years and never broke the rear end. I've had 4-speed Z/28 Camaros, and rolled backward out of my driveway down a San Francisco hill, and while rolling backward, dropped the clutch at 4,000 rpm and smoked the tires all the way up the hill, every day for a year, without breaking the 10 bolt posi. Yes, if your running wrinklewall slicks with 10 psi of air in them bolted to the rims, and you have a 700hp big-block that your going to launch at 5,000 rpm either with a clutch or a trans-brake, then yes, you need a tough rear axle. But for 99.9% of the rest of us, it's overkill. Ditto for transmissions. "You gotta have a Turbo 400 automatic, or 727 Chrysler, or C6 Ford." Really? Because I know people who have raced Turbo 350s and C4s behind 500 hp motors for years with no problems. Again, if your running a 12:1 compression 572 Rat on Alchohol in a truck pull with 44 inch tires, yes, a race-prepped Turbo 400, if not an Allison, is a good Idea! But in a street/strip Camaro or Nova or Chevelle? Puhleeze.  So save your money, unless your building an absolute monster. Mastermind