Concerning the small block Toploader/FE/bellhousing story, I have to wonder how many people have actually tried a SB trans in a FE, and how many are just passing on "old wives tales". I have a small block 1 1/16" wide ratio Toploader (originally from a 66 Fairlane 289, according to the ID info on the Dave Kee site), behind a early 60s car bellhousing, which is bolted to a 428 CJ. After hearing all the warnings about the input tip bottoming out in the crank, I bolted the bellhousing to the assembled 428, with no clutch or flywheel, and found that the splined section of the input cleared the pilot bushing by a comfortable amount, and after measuring the distance between the back of the pilot bushing, to the transmission surface , and comparing to the end of the input to the front of the trans case, discovered about 1/2" of room between the input tip to the bottom of the cranks rear bore. Also, I just measured 3 different small block inputs (Toploader, Jerico, and a T5), all the tips averaged about 1.16" from the end of the splines. I also measured the rear crank bore of one of my 1UB 428 cranks, , there was just over 3/4" of depth below the pilot bushing step. And when I stuck a SB input into the crank bore, with no pilot bushing, it was obvious that the larger, splined section would contact the back of the pilot bushing , before the tip was even close to bottoming in the crank. That said, maybe Ford had some different depth car bellhousings, or maybe some FE cranks have a shallower rear bore than others, but in my case, the un touched small block input fit with plenty of clearance. And for the record, I have over 500 "shakedown" miles on my 59 now, and engine, trans, and clutch are all doing fine. As for the engine, I`m cheap, so I tend to use what I have laying around, and I can`t imagine selling a good 428 block,that I already have ,in order to use a 390 block instead. Also I don`t necessarily build an engine to a HP number, rather I decide what I want to engine to do, and select the parts accordingly. Too many guys read too many car books, and end up with too many expensive parts in an engine, in order to "hit" a HP number, and end up with a combination that lacks the driveability they were hoping for, and if they ever do take the car to the track, often performs well below their expectations. If your main goal is to wave a dyno sheet around, rather than have a comfortable driver, or a strong runner at the track, because of mismatched parts, thats different than how I look at it.