Last night I did some more Googling and read one article that confirms what you are saying, and what we kind of remembered..........some blocks came from the factory relieved already, but for some reason Ford stopped that practice on later engines.

They say it drops the compression ratio about 1/2 point, but that it does breathe easier. I guess I will be learning a lot about flatmotors as time goes on and I get more involved building this one.

Don