Not exactly stock....But really badass....

As a follow-up to the last post I was talking to some people and they asked about the Pure Stock drag champion Corvette I mentioned in an earlier post. They wanted clarification because I'd said it was an L88 427, but it wasn't numbers-matching. What I meant was it wasn't even a "real" L88. The car was a 390 hp model, and the owner had rebuilt the engine to L88 specs. Anyhow-today with the help of the manufacturers and the aftermarket it's possible to build a premium "King Kong" engine for a fraction of what buying a "real" one would cost. Here's some examples. # 1. "Boss" 302 / 351 Ford. Edelbrock and Trick Flow offer high-performance aluminum "Cleveland" style heads that will bolt up to and have the water jackets to be compatible with 302 / 351W blocks. Edelbrock offers "E-Boss" manifolds that have the proper deck height and bolt-patterns to make this combo work. So it would be pretty easy to build your own "Boss" 302 / 351 engine. Further-like I said in the last post-with the stroker crank kits out there available cheaply-how about a 347 or 392 inch "Boss" motor? That would give your Mustang or Cougar or whatever some serious hp and torque. # 2. L88 / LS6 / LS7 427 / 454 Chevy. Junkyards are full of '70's and '80s trucks with 454s. If you want a 454-you've got it, just rebuild it with rings and bearings, or pistons, whatever it needs. If you want a 427-Eagle, GMPP and other companies offer 3.76 inch stroke crank and piston kits that will work in a 454 block and make 427 inches. You'll also need a different flywheel and balancer, ( 427s are internally balanced, 454s are externally balanced ) but that's a no-brainer. Crane, Lunati, and Comp Cams all sell exact replicas of the original L78 / LS6 and L88 / LS7 solid-lifter cams. Merlin sells the rectangular port high-performance iron heads. ( Much cheaper than aluminum ) and GMPP sells the intake manifold. Or if your not super-anal about it being exactly "Spec"-it's not original anyway-you could use an Edelbrock Performer RPM. This combo won't exactly be dirt-cheap; but it'll be less than half of what you'd have to spend for a "real" LS6, L88 or LS7.  # 3. Ram Air IV 400 Pontiac. This one is so easy it's almost criminal. 400s were standard equipment in virtually every Pontiac ever made from 1967-78. Edelbrock's round-port Performer RPM heads are exact replicas of the vaunted factory RAIV heads. You'll need some round-port headers, but Hooker and Hedman have you covered. Ames performance and NPD offer aluminum RAIV / 455HO replica intakes or you could use an Edelbrock Performer or Performer RPM. Crane, Lunati, Comp Cams and Edelbrock all offer RAIV spec cams. And again-with help from Eagle or Butler Performance-you could put a crank kit in it to make a 433 or 461. Would a 461 inch RAIV make your Firebird or LeMans or GTO "Jules' Wallet?  Does a bear crap in the woods?  # 4. "W30" 400 / 425 / 455 Olds. Edelbrock offers high-performance aluminum heads for these engines. I personally like the original Torker on these engines-the mid-range and top-end rush is awesome-but the Performer and Performer RPM work well too. Lunati and Comp Cams offer "W30" spec cams; however I prefer their one Bracket Master profile-it has slightly less duration-and a better idle than the W30, yet has MORE lift. ( The W30 has 232 duration @ .050 and .474 lift. The BM has 224 / 234 duration @.050 and .496 / .520 lift ) This cam pulls hard to 6,500 rpm. # 5. "W31" 350 / 403 Olds. The original "W31" 350 was grossly under-rated at 325 hp. ( The basic "station wagon" 350 had 310 hp; the W31 with special heads,intake and exhaust manifolds, and a 308 degree cam only made 15 more hp, yet needs a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears? Puhleeze. ) Edelbrock claims 397 hp and 400 lbs of torque from their Performer RPM package on a 350. I'd build a 403-everything interchanges with a 350-and the 53 extra cubes should put you well over 400 hp, and have a better idle. # 6. "Stage 1" 400-430-455 Buick. The vaunted "Stage 1" 455 in the 1970 GSX is legendary among musclecar fans. With only 678 built-their pretty much a moon rock. However-Buick fans needn't despair. Edelbrock offers aluminum heads and Performer and B4B intakes for these engines. Comp cams and T/A performance offer cams. TTI and Hooker offer headers.  # 7. Cobra-Jet 390 Ford. This is my invention. If your building a Thunderbolt Fairlane clone or a GT500 Shelby clone or restoring a '69-70 Mach 1 or Cougar Eliminator-the chances of you finding a running or at least rebuildable 427 or 428 Ford is almost nil. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning on the golf course. However, all "FE" engines are externally identical and the 390 was used in just about every Ford car and truck built from 1961-76. There's millions of them out there. Edelbrock claims 452 hp and 428 lbs of torque from their Performer RPM package on a 390. Magazine writers spout numbers flippantly, but 450 honest hp will turn any street cat into an absolute rocket. Further, Eagle and other companies offer crank and piston combinations to get as much as 447 inches from a 390 block.  Any of these combinations would make your street machine seriously badass, at a fraction of the cost of the "Real Deal".  Mastermind