Who has posted and kept a thread up to date on building a 1954 331 Hemi? I am getting ready to tear down mine and interested in what and how you finished yours. You can send me your HAMB name and I'll look at what you have done. I want to keep it mostly stock but get some extra power out of it for daily driving. Want to get some thump thump noise without an expensive build. I know that requires something with the crank. Going into a 1940 Desoto sedan.
About the only thing that has anything to do with the crank is that the cross-drilled oil holes on a 331 crank are a little smaller than those on a 354 or a 392. Unless you were planning on sustained high RPM operation, it is really of little concern. This is the place where I get most of my Hemi parts: https://hothemiheads.com/hotheadspi.html You can get a good cam and lifters, and a timing chain there. Don't go overboard. Add to that a dual-plane single 4-barrel intake, and a 650cfm vacuum secondary carburetor, and some headers. That will make for spirited driving, presuming that the engine is otherwise in good condition. If not, have it freshened up in the conventional fashion, rings/bearings/gaskets/seals, etc. As for what I have done? Well, I went overboard. Hemis can get really expensive, really quickly. You don't need to do this to have many smiles-per-hour.
Look, I’m gonna do you a solid. I know that shop space is a premium in your area, and looks like you can’t even get good access to your welder. I’ve some time this week, I’ll come over and haul that Hemi out of your way and free up some space for ya. It’s a win-win!