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Hey Kevin,
I too am a recent convert. After 44 long years on this planet I finally bought my first Ford (Cobra) last week. I've only toyed with Chevrolets until now. Quite frankly, I probably did so because it was easy. Just about everything interchanges in the bowtie line, whereas the Fords take some book reading to figure out what will go into what.
To answer your question, certainly a BBC can be put into a Superformace. If I'm not mistaken, it's smaller dimensionally than most of the BBF's that the Superformance is designed to hold.
But before you make your engine choice, consider the weight. I thumbed my nose at a few small block Cobras until coming to grips with my senses. I ended up buying one with a 289. The car is just so light that I think a small block is a better choice, except, of course, when you're parked with your hood up.
To add perspective, my very sensibly modified 454 Stingray will only turn a 12.20 quarter. My "little" 289 Cobra has made only one quarter mile run and it yanked a 10.93 out of its hat! Of course, the 289 is a little more high strung than the 454.
I'm guessing that you're a die hard big-block guy, judging by your other two cars, and quite frankly, two weeks ago I'd have been right with you in wanting a 454 / 502 / ??? in a Cobra. If you're a hood-up guy, I'd say go for it. If you're a driving guy, anything with 8 cylinders will make you smile in these lightweight cars. I think that it mostly comes down to whatever you like best. There will always be those who will chastise you for putting anything other than a Ford engine into a Cobra. But if you do some research, I think you'll find that Carroll Shelby originally approached the powers at Chevrolet for an engine in his little A.C. idea. They balked so he went to Ford for support. You could always argue that your BBC Superformance is what he REALLY wanted to build!
Tom
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