Sorry, water (and most liquids) is generally considered incompressible.
And if adding steam holes fixes the problem, quick or otherwise, then it's fixed. 400's are very popular with the mudding crowd around here...most cubes from a (light weight) screamin' small block. Any overheating is due to radiator plugging!
Too many variables to condemn an engine design because of a relatively few bad experiences. I've seen 350's & 383's blow up because the drivers didn't know how to use what they had, or the builder didn't pay attention to detail.
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