Our experience was with 1972-1973 455 castings. Running Nitrous Oxide with total running HP around 1200 and maximum RPM's of 7000. We had consistent block failure in the same place on all three blocks. All 3 cracked the block up the #2 main oil feed from that feed hole to the cam bearing bore. Nothing dramatic, it just happened after quite a bit of racing time on the track. Several years worth of racing. One of them cracked up the #2 main and the #4 main oil feed as well. We ran aluminum rods in all of them. As mentioned, tune-up and detonation is the block killer, especially stock blocks. I would build the best engine you can and not pay too much attention to those old timers who insist a stock block Pontiac is a throw away at 700 HP like we had been hearing for decades. That kind of talk comes mostly from people who haven't done anything and believe everything they read. That said, an aftermarket block gives you to a whole different level of performance potential and abuse they can withstand. Good luck with the build.
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