Pros and Cons of different engine setups

[BlueRooster]

.I reposting this in a thread with more traffic.

Can somone give a good detailed description of the good and bad of different big block engines for cobras? I am trying to come up with the best combo and I cant seem to find anything descent in the archives. resale, power, streeability, etc'

[Bob Putnam]

Your question leaves too many unknowns...

Big block? FE or 385 series?

How much money are you willing to spend?

How much horsepower are you looking for?

Use on street and/or track?

Tolerance for "race engine" characteristics?

What car is it going in?

[Hal Copple]

you have to compromise on a lot of issues:

cost of componants
drivability, the ability to idle in traffic on hot days
fuel costs
risk, as related to your driving ability
maintenance requirements
"authenticity"
and of course, how much you value nimble handling, Vs.
straight line acceleration

Then you have to decide on colors, transmissions, diff ratios, and how much your wife or significant other will demand as the "cost" of their approval of your replica. This has tended to be the most expensive for me, by far.

I see this as sort of a "ransom" for my Replica.

[BlueRooster]

OK sorry to be so vague. I guess I just wanted an idea of which BB was better for racing or the street, reliability and so forth. I see its a pretty personal thing and I should do more research, then come back and ask more specific questions later.

How 'bout this one. How is proper alignment done? How do you maintain alignment? and is there a certain type of shop that would be qualified? I dont think know enough to tackle this myself, and I wouldnt want just bring it to a local alignment shop. Any thoughts?

[Rick Parker]

Definately you will want 4 wheel alingment done. If there are any racing chassis shops in your area that would be a source, another is to check out a shop that caters to the Porsche crowd.
Generally a Porsche dealer has the correct alignment rack, many of them lazer oriented now for accuracy. This type of shop will also give your car the care you expect as they are accustomed to high end cars, just dont ask for the "$29.95 special" One thing to ask about while your researching is how the alignment heads actually fit on "your" wheels during the process itself. You do not want any surprises here. My son had some new wheels on his Mustang scratched by a shop tech while attempting to install the alignment heads on his wheels, he was quite angry. Doesn't hurt to ask questions.

Rick