Bench racing is fun isn't it?
Seriously, I keep reading these posts about giant engines and mega hp numbers in 2300# cars and am constantly amazed by it.
Why in heck build all that power and not be able use it? Yeah it's nice to say mine's bigger 'n yours, but less than 1% of the people who own any kind of Cobra car whether real or replica has the ability and skill to handle the car under heavy throttle with even a modest 400hp engine.
Drag racing? Sure if the car will hook up and launch, but any other use is tempting fate to the extreme.
After all of this and I've wanted to get it out of my system for quite a while now... unless the owner is going to freewind the engine in his driveway, just to watch the tach needle go past 8 grand, a decent 2 bolt block is more than adequate. Trick pistons? Trick rods? Trick crank? Only if you just like to spend money. 450 reliable hp can be produced using pretty modestly priced parts.
The long and short of this diatribe, is that to me it makes no sense to put NASCAR parts in a street engine. Did I mention that engines built to these levels use a lot of
oil, foul spark plugs, start hard when warm and load up when sitting idling?
A last thought. The original 427 cars and for that matter 289 cars, were pretty darned quick, just as they were. Quick enough I might add, that not only did they win lots of races, but were more than a handful to drive.....even for experienced race car drivers. More is not better here......it's just plain silly.
Sorry for the blather
Al