Ok, here is another can of worms

[Excaliber]

I really think the whole alloy light weight deal is over blown, from my experience. I'm running an all iron engine, block and heads anyway, alloy intake and water pump. "Nose heavy"? It aint, simple as that. Whats way more important is how the car is setup. Right now, I've been running laps on Infineon with SAAC-35. I ran laps on Friday and today (Saturday) and will run some more on Sunday.

The car is 100% neutral, I DID manage to get all four wheels off the track on Friday. Not a spin out, an all but perfect sideways "drift" until I ran out of pavement. The steering is remarkably light and easy, the tires (WHEN they get hot) stick very well. When the tires are cold, they are just about like street tires, not much traction.

I seriously doubt I could feel any difference with alloy heads. Maybe if I went all out and did the alloy block, etc, maybe. But then the handling might be off, I've have to re-adjust accordingly.

It aint the wieght unless your already dialed in and ready to drive in the experienced class or higher it doesn't justify the additonal expense. That assume's there might BE additional expense over an iron block to begin with. That depends on what the individual has on hand or can get at any given time.

A light weight all alloy engine ISN'T going to suddenly turn you or your car into a great handling machine around a race track. There are other variables far more important.

[FatBoy]

I totally agree. As I already said, mine, with an iron block and alloy heads has a very slight rear weight bias (52%) and I can't see that increasing that would improve matters, unless you then also cut some more weight from the rear as part of an overall weight reduction.

Paul

[stimpy]

(great handle, by the way)

I wasn't going to get an SC and put a small block in it, I would get the traditional FIA or slab side body style and power it with a 289 or a Windsor.

I agree that the much more aggressive 427 flared out body should have the heavy iron and be able to walk the walk.

As an aside, I was at the SAAC thing on Saturday and I had 2 observations. First, I was surprised and disappointed that Kirkham did not have a booth!

I know California is a long way to come fro Utah but this WAS the National meeting after all, Shelby American and Superperformance managed to get there.

Second, the BIGGEST crowds around cars that I saw (again on Saturday) were around the "slab side" 289s and 260s (real ones--so that could be why) with wire wheels and a more English or European look.

This was especially trek for the ladies that were in attendance.

Food for thought, ne c'est pas.

[Lew Ledyard]

Ask David and Tom what their driving impressions are. They have more seat time in either than almost anyone else and are always honest, willing and informative with their opinions. Also, their opinions are not frozen in time. They drive these cars regularly and I am sure that their opinions have evolved as the cars have evolved. Also, size may matter in another way: when I was looking 5 years ago, the 289 cars seemed more cramped on the inside. However, that may have been due to the specs on the individual cars that I sat in and it may have changed since then. (I am 6'4" and was about 230 lbs back then.)