Hey Mike, mine was a dry sump also, if you are trying to keep the excess oil out of the engine i dont think the drian holes in the lifter valley would be the problem. I think part of my problem was it had 16-1 compression and a 4.250 stoke. When my engine builder built it he had never built a SBC with a 4.250 stroke and wasnt sure it wouldnt try to throw the the rods right out of the block. The only problem i ever had was main bearings and im not sure it wasnt the rocket block. I had a freind with a 454 with a 4.125 stroke in a dart block with no problems and he is still running it after 5 years.