[Rickd]

Chocolate or vanilla? The 289 with Webers still .. to me .. looks like the "real deal" from back in the day when it was gloves off, Shelby team vs the World in Europe. The essence of the "Cobra". The 427, to me, is a "hotrod" version of a cobra...so I would go for the FIA or slab side version - ERA or Superformance - with some version of a small block. And small block today sure beats the heck performance wise out of the options available back in the late 60's.

And SO much depends on how the motor is set up. I had a Unique 289 FIA that I bought used, and it had a 289 HIPO motor with around 300 hp. The power band on that car was in the 1500 - 3500 rpm range. It had amazing low end torque. On a road racing track (Gainesville Motor Speedway Road Racing Track) it would run all day with 550 hp cars and they couldn't close on it in the straights. I thought "more hp is better" so I changed out the stock HIPO heads for Trick Flow aluminum heads and a more aggressive cam. Increased HP by 75 or more, but lost the low end torque almost completely. Sounded great, but now where near as quick on a road racing course.

That was quite a learning experience.