I've heard that building a closed deck block is bad for reliability issues. Of course if you're running 20psi....thats not exactly going for a car my mom would drive. But if i were to buy a block from import builders or jg that was a closed deck design, would i be able to drive this car everyday??

 

it's difficult for daily driving becuz of the heat retention problem. If you can find a way to keep the crank case cool, it'll work fine, and like you said, be sturdy as hell. I smell a custom-made cooling system coming on, though. Pretty penny.

 

Can't the GE, Darton, AEBS, Payne, etc sleeves can withstand 20+ pounds of boost while still retaining the cooling passages?

 

yea but the iron sleeves retain heat... I guess this is hard to overcome...

 

The hard part with the cooling isn't getting the iron to cool off, it's getting enough water through the block and passages to cool effectively while at the same time still having the sleeves perform their job. I think the darton sleeves have a block guard built in, are rated to 20 PSI, and have some of the largest water jacket cutouts available. Couple that with a brand new water pump, an extra hi-flow hayden fan on the front of the radiator [or one on front and one on back], and you should be fine. Air speed across the radiator is what keeps the water cool, so you're going to need some way of making your own air speed when you're not moving