[jldunkle]

I have owned ERA #208, 402 and 326. The #208 car had a 428 with Webers, #402 had a 427 S/O and #326 had a 390 w/ Edelbrock Heads. The biggest problem car was the S/O car. The "fabled" LeMans rods are a problem and most of these blocks have been abused. A friend of mine had a 427 S/O and also had problems with the LeMans rods. He ended up having to have the S/O rebuilt locally with Eagle Rods and a better cam and the car was incredible afterwards. The guy I sold my 402 car had to do the same exact thing. Do yourself a favor, don't fall for the overpriced Side Oiler myth with high compression and high lift solid lifter camshaft. Find a good standard bore FE block and go with Edelbrock FE Aluminum Heads, Cam and Intake. Run a 750-800 CFM Holley and you will get an honest AND reliable 450 HP on PUMP GAS! I have attached a pic of the motor in my #326 car. I had $4,800.00 in the motor even with Aluminum Heads, etc. and I am telling you the thing was evil. Can you tell the difference? Please keep another thing in mind. When you wick that $20,000.00 Side Oiler up to 6,500 RPM and one of those 40 year old LeMans rods decides to leave the motor via the side of the block what will you do then? Don't get me wrong, an authentic 427 Cobra replica is cool, but there is a reason production 6 cylinder cars make 300+ horsepower now. I am thankful that dynos, computers and flow benches have enabled us to get more bang for the buck by being able to get NEW parts for a lot less than "correct" 40 year old parts and they work great. Do yourself a favor, don't overpay for a Side Oiler if you are worried that 1 guy out of 1,000 will ever notice. One of my SPF cars had a F.A.S.T. injected 392 stroker small block that put over 450 HP at the wheels and I ran Sunoco 92 fuel in it. That is what I call something that works! Good Luck!