Steve,
If I am guessing right, the particular ERA with a 427 SO that pulled away from you was actually stroked to about 484 or so
Just remember, for about the price of a good 427 SO block alone, you can get about 700HP out that 460.
On my "460", I can unbolt the headers from the heads with the motor in the car (lots of wrist/arm contortion skills necessary), but I would have to pull the motor to get them out.
I am on my third set of sidepipes......ended up using the same Howe muffler as Jim Woodard mentioned. You can roll a baseball through them. Did I mention they are loud?
If you use the Howe, be sure not to point your turnout tips to the ground or your car will lift up off the ground in back when you take off, causing the rear wheels to spin.
