Ok so I'm new to the forums but wanted to ask some opinions of other Iboaters. I recently bought a 23.5 foot Century 4500 XL. It had a 350 in it that was cracked. My Engine options with the budget I have and the spare parts already laying around are 350 w/vortec heads, aftermarket cam,intake carb etc. with a alpha1 or bravo1 or a 454 4 bolt main w/ peanut heads, after market cam,intake, carb etc and an alpha or a bravo. Just curious what people think. I know the first jump is to the 454 but I'm worried the peanut heads won't make the power I am wanting vs a small block with vortecs. The SBC compression ratio will end up at 9.5:1 where the BBC will be in the low 8's. I always could swap the heads but this is the stuff I have available now and with the budget of other projects on the boat these are my options at this current time. Does anyone have experience with the "Peanut" heads vs a healthy SBC? Dry specs on the boat are just shy of 4000lbs. I will attatch a pic to give an idea of the hull design. If you are curious it was originally equiped with a 260hp 350 and an alpha, but most of these boats had a 330hp 454 and a bravo. I am setting my goals at decent bottom end power with a top speed reaching 60. BTW not my boat but exactly the same boat, It's at my shop right now getting taken apart and forgot to bring the digital camera home.