[Jahred]

Absolutely! The Ford Crate Engines are a great value. About $7000 will get you a brand new 514. The 460'd be great too, as would any of the other V-8's.

I like the 514, am very pleased with driveability, though it will get hot in traffic. Idles very well. With a solid axle you can handle the power at least sometimes and you leave nothing on the table in terms of owning the Ultimate Muscle car.

I am sure a nice 351 is also a laugh riot and you can probably drive it harder. I think with the Cobra though, they all take some finesse.

I wondered constantly before mine was delivered what it would sound and feel like it when I punched the thing in 1st gear.

Now I've had it about 18 months. I still wonder. It doesnt take long to realize that is just not something one should do!.

As to the tranny - hard to find anything that is rated for 500 let alone 600+ Horsepower. But its a light car, and I don't think there is a big problem with most cobra set ups.

I think the main thing is gearing and number of gears. 4 Spd Toploader I guess is most "Classic"..... but with a 3:50 or so you run out of top end pretty quickly. The five speed is nice in terms of knowing you, at least in theory can hit 165-200MPH. I always thought the 6 Spd was a total mismatch.

There is too much power to be able to shift gears fast enough to use them all and there is plenty of top end with the 5 Speed. maybe others have thoughts on the six speed, and a nice spread in gearing would be great at a range of speeds. But when you can do 0-140 in not much over 10 Seconds, who the heck can work the clutch and shifter 6 times effectively in 10 seconds?

I'd vote Five Speed. And don't be afraid of the Big Block. You'll never regret it.