It took me an hour to just get logged in so I could post.
You guys that have only been here for a few years don't understand how awesome this website was back in the early 2000's. It's now a steaming, stinking shell of what it was.
The only advice I'll give is this:
1. Go for displacement. I've built exactly one 331 since I've been building engines. I've built countless 347's. IMO, unless you have a displacement rule or something, there's no need for a 3.250" stroke crankshaft. Why pass up on displacement?
2. There are many wives tales that seem to be circulated around the internet by people who don't know what they're talking about. The first one is that longer stroke engines won't rev. That's foolishness. The second one is that pistons with the
oil rings intersecting the wrist pin bore causes issues. That's another strong bout of internet stupidity.
3. Rod ratios don't mean squat. Make a light piston, then use the rod length you need to connect the piston to the crankshaft.
4. If the car is set up for a 9.500" deck block, I'd go back with a tall deck engine. A 4.100" stroke crank in a 9.500" Dart block (438-445 cubes) will rev as high as you want it to rev and will not only make a ton more peak hp, but will also have an extremely high average horsepower/torque curve.
5. For everyone whining that you can only use so much horsepower. That may be so, but every car I've driven thus far has had a gas pedal in it. You can control how much fuel you give the engine.