small block versus aluminum big block for racing?

[BANDIT 1]

It really depends on the "setup" of the car. When I was eighteen years old I had a friend teach me about "proper chasis steup". He showed me that a proper setup car was the difference in racing. He use to have a Pontiac Version of a Vega (called ASTRE) and he had put a 406 (400 stroker) small block Chevrolet in the car. He showed me that with 13" tires he could smoke a 427 Corvette from streetlight to streetlight from a stop. His car jumped one full car lenghth off of anyone he ever raced! As long as the race was only to about 120 MPH, it was never beaten (if the 427 Corvette had raced him from a 35 mph roll it would have been a different story).

I know that it is easier to setup a small block car compared to the nastier big blocks, but it can be done.

If I was going to race my Superformance car on a road track, I could find other things on the car to lighten besides the engine.

As far as the engine goes, some of you have seen to many 427/428 guys that like dual 4 bbl carbs. and Weber injector setups and don't realize that most 460/460 stroker engines are running with just one 4 bbl carb.. That alone is a decent savings of weight.

I guarantee that I can lighten the front half of any comparable Cobra and equal the weight between a small block car and a big block car. For example: if the front of a Superformance Cobra weighs 1,200 lbs with a small block 351 engine and the front of a Superformance Cobra with a big block 460 weighs 175 pounds more , I gaurantee I can find a way to get rid of the extra weight and then some.

It is so funny that people make a big deal about 175 more pounds and act like there is no way to lighten the front of the car.