[patrickt]

I was trying to get to the point that John just made in one of my posts on the other 390/428 thread. Yes a 428 can dish out more potential HP than a 390, and a 427 can dish out more than a 428. But a well built 390 can easily get you close to the "usable street limit" in one of these cars. My stroked and bored 428 makes 450 HP with the pipes and accessories on -- and I can't even use all of that -- if I stick it hard she just breaks loose. Barry & Keith would call that a "very mild FE build" and they could get you those specs with a 390 working in their sleep. Plus, if you look at a lot of the Cobras that are for sale with "less than a thousand miles on them," almost all of them have ridiculously high HP numbers, and are probably a royal PITA to drive on the street. While it goes against most of our natures, there is a point when "less is more" on our cars... and you can hit the sweet spot pretty easily with a 390.