[What'saCobra?]

Byots,
Looking forward to your posting the FIA 427 docs.

i neither infered not said the 427 wasn't funded by FORD in 1965. Rather, i said the 289 was not funded by FORD after May, so no 289 development work was completed except for the Daytona work by SA. In fact, i was quite clear that mucho money continued to pour into the 427 and the better and quicker professional Cobra pilots climbed out of 289's and into 427's.

Again, the points Trev and i raised were for sb coil spring street cars, not requiring even more proofs of 427 coil cars beating 289 leaf cars, either in the past or today or next bloody week. But, no one is curious why the 289's lost their Webers? OK by me.

Well, not to put too fine a point on it, i am now curious how well a stroked small block coil spring car would run against an FE coil spring car. Which is more like what we were sort of asking, although, again, we were talking street balance, cost and all the other variables i posted a few meters ago. Not racing.

Look, i love the 7 liter engines. i just don't think today that the FE is the best or most economical way to get there. i sold my last 427 FE SO TP Dry Sumped (FORD original magnesium pan and front engine cover with built in sump pump) motor last month. It was near NOS, unsleeved, matching TP med. rise heads in iron, 2x4bbl aly intake manif. and quite unmolested. It was nice, and very valuable (got a fair price), but the development cost to turn that into a serious race engine was neither cheap nor a safe investment. The history of that particular engine made it a perfect match for an original MKII or MKIV GT40, so an owner in EU wanted it and i finally let it go. He found me in a moment of weakness and i didn't want to see it end up in some kit with a 9" rear axle and square frame tubes under plastic fantastic. It is too valuable as a historical item to risk racing, since it cannot go FIA racing, except in a proper GT40, which i ain't got...

i've had it a long time and it's good for around 500 HP for 500 race miles or so between OH. (Ask me why it had smaller diameter rod big end bearings and a turned down crank.) A sb stroked 351 will produce 600HP+ at half the cost or less, contain wonderful new stuff and weigh 200# less. Unless you are racing FIA GT40's, the FE is likely unnecessary. But, on the street, it is even less necessary.

And, if you insist on aly blocks (with which i heartily concur), consider an aly 351. i am sure y'all know where the big stroked sb engine concept came from...the Chevy Rocket Blocks (sometimes called "tall" blocks) of now almost 8 years ago. That revolution resulted in everyone getting on Chevy's bandwagon with their own "tall blocks". So, also FORD, finally.

And the big liter bb's have had their development investment pushed by the off-shore boat racing crowd, who buy more bb's than we will ever demand.

Of course, the CanAm cars also use aly bb's, but they are usually only 8-9 liters and very few are built each year compared to boats.

My point, however, is that i see a market for a coil sprung car, very lightweight, sb powered (but with up to big power) as great street cars...

And with all the advantages of lower cost and better handling in all the compass points.

Thanks for listening, though.

Your wierdy, wordy, nerdy old phartista.