World Products has been providing racers with high-quality, big-blocklock Chevy engine blocks for decades. We got a chance to stop by the booth at the 2018 PRI show and see everything they have going on for the coming year. One product we took a look at, was the Merlin IV Block. The company made several changes from the Merlin III Block to create a more stout platform for racers to build upon.

We spoke with Jack McIniss of World Products, and he had this to say about the Merlin IV Block, “The alloy has been upgraded, and we have added material in the cam tunnel area, cylinder walls, and the main webs. We also took some material out of bell housing and other less-critical areas, so the weight stays the same, but the strength is much greater.”

These cast Mark IV-type blocks can be had in standard big block bore spacing, and are offered with a 55mm cam, and 904 lifters, or standard big block cam and lifters. Either way you order it, they are a stocked part number for World Products, and are ready to ship.

Jack went on to say, “We’ve also upgraded the oiling system. It’s a priority main oiling system, but we’ve enlarged the passages to remove some of the restriction and get more oil flow.”

It’s plain to see, by removing material from less critical areas and beefing up others, coupled with the oiling system improvements they’ve made over the Merlin III, World Products has produced an extremely stout block. Whats more, they’ve accomplished all of this without increasing the block’s weight in any way.

If you’d like to find out more about World Products’ Merlin IV Blocks, or anything else they stock, check out pbm-erson.com. Stay tuned for everything else going on at the 2018 PRI Show.