[Rickd]

There is a guy with an ERA FIA (#2009 I believe) living in Rhode Island who has an original 302 Boss motor in his car. Mated to a Richmond Gear 5 speed and I believe a 3.08 rear. It was set up by the original owner to qualify for Vintage Racing, hence the original Boss motor, heads, etc. From my point of view the negative about that motor is lack of low end torque. Those huge valves = high end hp, and it winds forever. A 302 with aluminum heads and a modest cam is much quicker and has more low end torque. The Keith Craft 331 stroker I have in my ERA FIA, with AFR 165 heads, is a much quicker motor than the original 302 Boss setup. A really cool small block is a Dart block, bored to 4.125, with a 347 stroker kit. The wider bore gives you 347 cubes with the shorter stroke, a lot of HP, and a lot of torque. Probably would want to use AFR 180's with that one. Keith Craft is the guy to talk to. They build a really nice motor for the $$$, and any time I hear someone like the Kirkham brothers lauding a motor builder - well, they know a lot more than I do. The Boss 351 was supposedly another situation all together - quick - torque - and the first ERA FIA ever sold has one in it (Jeff Burgey), and that car is one of the prettiest FIA's on the planet. Have fun, the research is half the fun (but the driving is very cool). Rick