200R4 or 700R4?

[1project2many]

I read an article in hotrod or car craft magazine in the late 80s that the olds drag guys liked the 5.7 diesel blocks because extra webbing and the higher nickel in the iron.

Yep. Joe Mondello used diesel blocks for everything. Olds V8 engines aren't bad but making big power requires a lot more work than some other designs. They do take a beating, though. The 403 was a helluva torquer for a stock powerplant.

GM screwed up with the 5.7 diesel alright. I met a guy who claimed to have worked Chevrolet's customer service line in the '80s. They were instructed to handle every call reporting a 5.7 diesel problem this way: "Really? Your [insert failure here]? That's the first time I've ever heard of that." Nice job, guys.