Hey welcome Chris, the heartbeat of America is a great value for money option, especially with a modern build, but my own preference is for the sound of a sixties style pushrod ford V8, with the correct firing order through some live pipes...just my preference though, but you got to do the math, have a look at some of the guys and gals cars, go to some meets and "scratch and sniff"(not the duco though
) for what you really have the feel for, and you can pick up a tonne of good intel.
Everyone will have their own preference, but remember your investment is your car, so you pay , your say
I do not think these cars are going to get easier to get across the line, but WA is a lot more build friendly than NSW, and there are a few unreal WA cars up for sale on the board too!