[MARKDTN]

Tall deck crankshaft is same as "regular" 396/427 and are made of the best material. I was pretty sure the stock heads were junk, but would interchange with regular BB heads. The big difference is the intake. You have to use a tall deck intake and your choices are pretty limited. There is a HEI for tall deck, so that is not too hard to get. Tall deck accessories are pretty bulky. All said, I would not go that way even if I had one. If you must have a big-block, get a standard height one.

I'm going to say it, LS has taken over big-block territory. Big block stuff is not bringing nearly what it did 15 years ago and LS is why. New C7 Corvette has 450HP and 450 ft-lbs torque and gets 29 MPG from a 6.2L (~378 cubic inch) LS based engine. You can't get 29 mpg from a 450HP 396/402/427/454/502 I don't care what you put it in. If I had a BB truck I wouldn't change it, but if I was starting from scratch, no way I build a BB.