[USMC302]

Andy, extremely good point about the cylinder distortion, I know they use the torque plates and they recommended the torque settings, so far I'm pretty happy with the power I'm getting out of the 331 so far, it is a low compression motor so high 11's were fine with me. For the record, I am using the "555", corteco gaskets, and everything is torques to around 95 ft lbs. I sprayed a 150 shot not too long ago just for the hell of it and it rans 10's with no problems and barely any tuning. I'm counting my blessings.
Your right about the bolts though, I WAS having the same problems, not sure why, maybe the bolts were stretched out, can't remember if they were new or not. Wonder if that block I got just didn't go as deep on the bolt holes. Well regardless, I'm saving for a 363 dart block as we speak. Hopefully things will go smoother next year with it.