Although the 375HP 396/402, and 425HP 427 Chevys were readily available to the buying public, the L88 was not, and the 454 LS7 was only available over the counter. Hardly comparable to the widely available 428 CJ. Also, the 375/396 and 425/427 BBCs also had higher compression, bigger valves and ports, aluminum high rise intake manifold, along with the solid lifter cam, so they were more of a race type engine than the much more docile 428 CJ. And unlike the 428 CJ, the "big dog" versions of the 396 and 427 Chevy were not available with A/C, and they earlier versions were 4 speed only. It is unfortunate that Ford never offered multiple versions of their street performance engines, there was only one version of the 66-67 390 GT engine, while the 396 Chev could be 325,350, 360, or 375 HP, the 427 BB Chev was also available in several Same with the 400 Firebirds and GTOs, Olds 442s, and Buick GS. It would have been nice if Ford had had some higher performing versions of the 390 and 428 CJ, as well as a better and more commonly available limited slip rearend, along with a wider gear ratio selection. Until the 428 CJ, about the lowest available gear ratio was 3.50, while you could you could order your Chevy SS with as low as 4.88s. But it`s all 50 year old water under the bridge now.
