[Gunner]

When I was considering building a car, I wavered between a genuine side-oiler and a 427-cube midblock. When I was looking for one to buy, I considered only FE's.

Yes, engine tech has improved much in the last 45 years - my wife drives a Volvo, fa chrissakes, with 300 HP out of a 2.5 liter six. (Yes, I do borrow it frequently... why do you ask?) You can, and many do, drop a state of the art OHC FI blown engine in a Cobra. You can stuff in (well, not much stuffing required) a big-cube smallblock with internals more complex than a swiss watch. You can stuff in (shoehorns required) a 4.6 modular.

These cars are not about state of the art tech. They are about the meanest, nastiest, most overpowered tech that anyone could put on the street in the mid-60s. In 1965, a small block with 300 HP was screamin-demon state of the art (but is hardly worth mentioning today). You want a Roush small-block, a 4.6, a Prius driveline? Fine. Power (heh) to yez.

But in the end, IMHO - IMVHO - the 427 is about big blocks. Ford big blocks. Ford FE big blocks. Mean, nasty, irascible, finicky Ford FE big blocks.