Ok Travis, I get the picture better now. I suggested force feeding it when you referred to cost in cubic dollars. When you push many engines to win at the very top of the class, they can eat springs, cams, and other parts faster than many blown combos, and the parts are up there. If you have that 50K more or less, or some of the parts, great.
An FE can be reliably built at over 1,000 HP with a SHELBY or POND block and good steel crank, maybe a Sonny Bryant or Crower, Velasco, and similar, for insurance. I was thinking, Mike C runs a SHELBY block, and you will need a good block and crank, so once you have the solid block and crank, you can change it over to go blown some day too.
Sure, a 385 is a easy and less costly path, but it is not the true path for our 60s muscle cars. But for Lima Bean,,,(That name makes me hungry for some delicious southern style food btw), many people get your point.
Out West we DO allow a 385 in Nostalgia Super Stock. The promoters told me that the fans don't care as long as the old cars go down the track and also that they were concerned about cost. Sure there are other reasons
Some real nice guys run them just to be able to keep their old Ford racing. They are priced out of the 9 second FE power basically.
But this is where my head spins at times. Rules can start fights. Saw that elsewhere. We did an essay, several gas pals and me, to ask how on earth the Mid West Nostalgia guys ban all Mustangs? That is not at all how the Gas classes were out West in the 60s? and Stroppe, shucks, we did 12 Mustangs in a row for the Ford Drag Team? All fit the rules and all won and did well. We did a lot of AFX Mustangs too?
Shucks, my pal Tommy Grove who is a true true Ford Hero of ours, he ran the Charlie Horse in 65-6 and it flat flew with an FE? Talk to Bobby Spears and so many more.
So rules can be arbitrary I guess, or political some say, so I guess you have to follow them to run that series or do your own thing. We like that a lot. Pretty much pure Hot Rodding to some of us.
Many of us just build what we like. We helped a team do a 709 inch Boss Hemi a while back, sure, it did not fit a class in a T Bird but it flew, turned heads and was cool
And some guys missed this fact, I helped old Dyno Don do some 'T Bolt Clones' he called them. The fact is, Don made the same move and used a big 385 to just get the ET and MPH up there but look original everywhere outside. On the track, these cars looked like T Bolts. Pop the hood and there is a big old 385 wedge. He would have loved to build a similar level FE but we priced it out several times. The full cost was 3 times almost and moslty aftermarket parts. Don did like the fact that his Crate Engine based engines were almost all genuine Ford and he liked to support Ford and SVO too. So that is a factor for some guys.
Lot's to consider
Later, Don had a 385 series close to Pro Stock engine in a heavy car running low 7s. Again, he had a goal of low ET with an eye toward cost.
For me, I have a ton of FE stuff because I love FE's. 385 stuff got done at Holman Moody Stroppe. This stuff is still available so I collect just a little to build off of
I usually have some new SHELBY blocks stuffed away so I can help my FE pals. Waiting for the next 2 soon they say. Point there is, we did one out to 4.440 for a big blown Fairlane last year. But as Blair said, the land or gasket area between the bores is real slim. That is your call.
But for me, I like an FE car to have an FE in it. That is my first choice. It just looks and feels right and it takes you back in time.
I do have a new HM Medium Riser blower intake for me.....(Jokin now)....if you need to borrow it some day,,,to put the hurt on some Bowtie Boy....hee heeee
Have fun a good luck.
I plead guilty to having always liked blowers a lot too.....
