Not to take anything away from that build, it is super neat, but what would be the difference with a CNC'd wedge head, and fuel injection on a 482 with a good solid roller camshaft? Horsepower vs torque differences? Cost difference? This whole idea of building a SOHC seems to be to build something different from the norm. Joe-JDC
Joe - here is my 2 cents....
I don't know one single person running a "built" FE that chose the route because it was the most cost effective way to build horsepower. (in fairness - I do know one guy that threw a junk yard 390 in his ride because it was cheap and available and the price was right)... My attachment to the FE started with my friend's first car (now my project) which was FE based, and it has continued because it is part of hotrodding / racing folk-lore and because its relative rarity punches "cool factor" through the roof.
[author braces himself for a slew flames as he writes the following]. If my only factors in determining how to power a hotrod was minimizing dollars per horsepower - I'd find a junkyard LS motor and throw a cheap junkyard S400 turbo on it. 600+ HP for $1500 bucks with very reasonable reliability. There is a pretty interesting little pocket of folks that have done this and treat the junkyard LS long-blocks almost like a disposable / replaceable part. They run it until they ventilate the block, then head to the junkyard, haggle down to $900, swap in the long-block and go racing the next weekend. I don't know the car in this video - but I know one that is VERY similar (including similar HP numbers) that has been on the street in Phoenix for years - on the same stock long-block...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xycy_WgvN9QSo - why don't I stuff something like this in my Custom? Because I love the legend of the FE, I want to be different than the crowd, and because for some strange reason I've always been a "Ford guy." If I had the money to build a cammer - I would - if for no other reason than those. :-)