If you want a Big-block Chevy or a Chrysler Hemi then buy one.....

Saw a puzzling article in Popular Hot Rodding. I see these from time to time and I wonder-Why?  Some guys were trying to build a mega-hp Pontiac engine. As we all know Pontiacs are "Torque" motors, not high revvers. But that's what made them such a great STREET engine. When you've got 400+ lbs of torque off-idle you don't need to rev to 7 or 8 grand. Nunzi Romano, Jim Taylor, Jim Butler, Len Williams and other legendary Pontiac builders will tell you that less is more when building a Pontiac. Since stock heads don't flow much over about .480 lift, you don't need a huge cam. The stock intakes are quite good-in fact their better than many aftermarket ones up to 5,500 rpm. The Edelbrock Torker II and Performer RPM offer a 25 hp and 30 lb torque gain-above 4,500 rpm. But you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a 450 -500 hp engine that idles smooth and runs on pump gas. So why do people constantly try to make a Pontiac into a Big-Block Chevy or a Chrysler Hemi?  These guys spent a ton of money on a solid-roller cam setup and custom ported Kaufman "Hi-Port" heads, 1.7:1 big-block Chevy style rockers, custom length pushrods etc.. Now Edelbrock and Kauffman both sell aluminum Pontiac heads, both standard D-port and round-port RAIV style. There great, and you don't have to spend a bunch of money having 40+ year old heads re-done. But the "Hi-Ports" are bigger than even the RAIV's or Edelbrocks. So now you've got a Pontiac that has to rev to 7,000 rpm to make peak power at a very high cost. If you want a big-block engine that runs 7 grand then buy a Rat motor or a Hemi crate engine for less than what you spent trying to "Ratify" a Pontiac. Car Craft did a 400 a few years ago that made 440 hp and 460 lbs of torque and cost $4,400 to build, including the Edelbrock heads. High-Performance Pontiac rebuilt a junkyard 455 for $3,400 including the Edelbrock heads, and it made 497 hp and 530 lbs of torque. Both of these engines made more than 400 lbs of torque as low as 2,000 rpm, and would make great street engines. Why try to make a Pontiac into something it isn't?  I wouldn't take a Boss 302 Ford or 327 Chevy and try to make it have 500 lbs of torque at 2,700 rpm!!  Like I said before a flat-tappet hydraulic cam kit for a Pontiac costs about $200. The hydraulic or solid-roller conversions cost about $2,000. Why do you need a $2,000 valvetrain on an engine that doesn't make power over 5,800 rpm??  That money could be spent elsewhere-on heads, carb and intake, converter and gears,-stuff that would give much more bang for the buck. Anyhow-I wasn't impressed-they spent a ton of money and it only made like 550 hp. Jim Butler advertises that he can build you a Pontiac with 550 hp that runs on 89 octane gas with a flat-tappet cam and stock Iron heads!!  What's next?  A high-revving 472-500 Cadillac V8 buildup?  More people with more money than common sense. Mastermind