[blykins]

A lot of times, the customer has no idea of how much hood clearance he will have. All-in-all, a 482 at least deserves a 4x14" air cleaner, or if it's in a pickup truck, as much air cleaner as is aesthetically possible. In a Cobra, it is what it is. The hood clearance and shape of the hood really puts a damper on things.

I seem to have a different view of dynos than my customers. I bolt them up to make sure they don't leak, knock, fart, blow smoke, and the A/F ratio is as close as I can get it here. Customers just want a dyno sheet with numbers on it. I know the numbers will change the instant something else is added to the engine, if it's taken across country, etc.

Frankly, if we were to look at the "bottom line number" after all the "power suckers" were removed, then honestly we'd have to aim for 700-725 hp engine numbers before it's choked down by tiny air cleaners, under-hood air flow and temperatures, header designs, sidepipes, etc. We simply can not account for all parasitic power losses on the engine dyno. That's what a chassis dyno is for.

It seems like you and I are both in the same boat here, innocent bystanders with an opinion, only having the data that Bill has included in the past 4-5 pages of text. However, I just felt (and still do) that Bill's initial recap of how much disappointment he had was unwarranted and I've explained my reasons for that.