I agree totally on this, I have some of the best software out there and it is really nice for it to crunch the math for you but it cant build for you .

I didnt have these programs 20 years ago when I was buildin Hybrids, so there were a bunch of notebooks and erasers lol. I have a pile of notes in my head on what not to do! lol I was going through a cabinet a few weeks ago and found an old notebook that was about 15 years old and man it was like, how did i get by without Rhino* on dome profiles or enginemod2t on transfer tunnel volumes and exhaust blow-down to transfer window STA , or thanx to Calvin, Vellum on total engine drawings and the ability to group things in and out of a whole assembly, before software these things were just happened across and mocked up dozens of times and you did what worked, and had a massive pile of rods, pistons and cases just for mockup, problem here is this industry had a massive growth spurt in the last 7 or 8 years and that empirical data that worked on one setup wouldn't do for the dozen different setups now available, I don't port a cub like a stocker or a dm like a cub or a cougar or a scimitar and so on , they all have there separate layouts and each one of them can be built with different major differences,and you have to recognize the differences, a 132 rod,72 stroke dm with a 3+ mm domed piston will have a different need on a dome profile than a 125 rod engine with a flat top, not talking about obvious measurements but the changes the different measurement cause, not to mention volumes in the porting because of velocities.and lets not forget the pipe, lol its not there on vacation, lol I can nit pic any layout I see even my own sometimes but what it boils down to is efficiency on a given setup, that comes with experience, its been a while but i have had to mill out the side of a cylinder once or twice to weld up a water jacket above a transfer lol , so I agree with rob, there is a bunch of trial and error, but today there are guys who will help you

Dan I need this steps measurement on your dome

Thanks tim for the great service