[Dinobyte]

Okay, couple of ideas have suffaced for this motor. One is the stroked 1965 year block 289 to hit the 425HP. Eliminates the California SMOG issue.

The other two involve the big blocks, but first I tried to do a comparison of HP to Weight.

We are going to assume a BDR with a TKO600 (no engine yet) weighs in at roughly 2000 lbs.

Below are engine weights:

289 w/425 HP- 460 Lbs / 2460 Lbs Total Car Weight (HP to Weight ratio of 1:5.7882)
351 (392) w/430 HP - 510 Lbs / 2510 Lbs Total Car Weight (HP to Weight ratio of 1:5.8372)
390 or 428 w/525HP - 650 Lbs / 2650 Lbs Total Car Weight (HP to Weight ratio of 1:5.0476)

If we take the HP and calculate the HP to Weight ratio of just the engine, we have the following:

289 w/425HP weighing 410 lbs = .9647 lbs per 1 HP
351 w/430HP weighing 510 lbs = 1.186 lbs per 1 HP
390/428 w/500HP weighing 650 lbs = 1.3 lbs per 1 HP

So the target is somewhere between the 351's 1.186 and the 289's .9647 HP/Weight ratio. To achieve that on the outside, the 390/428 combo will have to hit at minimum 550 HP, which would put it at a 1.1818 lbs per 1 HP.

COST
Not knowing what the cost will be for the 289 will be, I will use Keith Craft's Stroked 331 cost of $6300 x 1.2 for fudge or $7,600. $7,600 divided by 425 HP would mean a per HP cost of $17.88.

The Ford Racing 351W stroked to 392, I will assume a cost of $6500, putting the per HP at $15.12.

One option for the 390/428 which makes me think this is possible, as per Keith Craft's website, is a 390 stroked out is hitting 525HP. The cost of this motor is $9,000, or $17.14 per 1-HP.

The key to making this work for the vintage motors is having the base SMOG gear, and not having too wild of a cam or too much carburation (i.e. single 4 barrel and a within reason cfm rating).

Okay guys, shoot holes in my assumptions.

Cheers
Dinobyte