Quote:
Originally Posted by mattpatt
So are there any "little" reindeer games? <{:>))
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The "little block versus big block" issue is probably the most discussed Cobra issue on this forum.
You can get just as much "usable horsepower" from a small block as you can an FE, and there is even a little weight savings, along with a significant costs savings. However, IMO the small block falls down in two important areas: Looks and Sound. The first one's pretty obvious, so I won't dwell on it. The subject of sound, though, is much more complex. Newbs tend to think that, just because the displacement of the engines may be the same, the sound of the engines will be the same (that is, between a big block and a small block). Nothing could be further from the truth. Or, as Ernie (Excaliber) would write, "
An FE is truly a non-campaniform idiophone."
If you think of a 427 small block as a bell, then a stock FE would be the same bell, but cast using a larger "cope," (the cavity of the resulting bell will still be identical). The bell will make an entirely different sound, even if you used the exact same clapper (and I'll just skip over the iron v. aluminum comparison). Did you know that deaf people can "hear" my Cobra? And it's not even that loud because I had special sidepipes made to reduce the overall decibel level. But they can
feel it. Some guys don't care about that and, truth be told, they don't want to spend the money on an FE (which is understandable). But, in the end, there's just no comparison for the overall effect of an FE.
If you're putting together a 427 style car, please try and put in an FE.