This one is for you die hards and engine builders. I'm using a 3.75 stroke / 5.7" rod combo to make up my 383. What's the piston stroke tolerance measuring from the deck face to the piston at TDC ?? I've heard .001" all the way up to .005"

 

do you want a guess as to how far the piston will be in the hole at TDC?
highly dependent on the block and the tolerance stack up from the crank, rods, piston

do you want the tolerance stack up as in how much each piston can vary in height at tdc?
again highly dependent on the companies could be as little as .0005 to as much as .010

depending on the company you could call and ask about their tolerancing practices
however don't count on them telling you.... would be better off assembling and measuring yourself

 

I figured it would be the tolerance stack up dictating this height. What I'm seeing is a TDC height variance of around .003", say between #2 and #8 and a little less between #4 and #6. I haven't indicated the drivers side yet.

 

That probably means your deck is absolutely, perfectly flat.