Not Ranked
Kevin,
I had a very similar question when planning my car. I bought a used Contemporary that already had a 351 Cleveland in it. I won't get into all he details here, but I thought then and still strongly think that the Cleveland is by far the best, most cost effective and best performing engine for a Cobra, bar none. Yet, despite that belief I chose at considerable expense to reconfigure the chassis to accommodate a FE. Why? There are many reasons.
First, it is my personal preference to have a car as close to the original as possible. That's my thing, others can and do disagree. You need to decide on how you feel about this.
Second, I know that my personality and patience level, or lack thereof, would quickly grow weary of explaining to people that "It's not a 427, but....". Again, you or others may feel differently on this, but that's how I feel.
Third, it's just cool to have the original 427 sideoiler in the car. It's the heart and soul of what makes a 427 Cobra, the meanest and baddest of them all, the car that it was and is.
Lastly, I am trying to do my car over with the best of everything. This is expensive. Without getting into the "Cobras are not investments" drivel, I want to be able to recover as much of what I put into this car as I can. I know that I'll lose money on it, I just want to limit that. There comes a point in selling these cars that after a certain price point, a FE is expected to be under the hood, and anything else limits the market or the price. It's just the way it is. I have no plans of keeping this car for life and being buried in it. One day I will sell it. I have never, EVER, heard someone say, "It's a nice car, but too bad it has a FE Sideoiler in it." It's the cream of the crop, the only no excuses engine for the car.
It's all in what you want, and how you want your car to look and perform. Both the FE and the 460 are great engines. What do you want to live with?
Planning one of these is half the fun - enjoy!
Doug
|