[markjohnson]

I've owned & fooled around with these big engines quite a bit and I've built 540 CID's based on GM Gen 6 502 blocks and you can get a 4.25 stroke crankshaft for less than $800. A 4.500 Stroke crank starts to get pretty expensive. Plus, I've NEVER seen or heard of anybody making a 572 from a short deck block such as the 502 CID. I'm sure it can be done with terribly short connecting rods in that short deck height block but it's really just not a good idea. Even on GM's very own 572 Crate motor, they avoided that 4.500 stroke crank shaft and chose to only go with a 4.375 stroke in a Tall deck block. 540 CID short deck engines have become immensely popular and represent the best bang for the buck.