my first disgusted spectator

[Excaliber]

Because he always wanted to use an Olds as his first choice when he quit racing and decided to build a new sports car! Which became, after considering numerous options for cars, engines, suppliers, financial backing, etc. the combo of AC and Ford.

Could have been something like Austin Healey 3000 with an Olds engine. I think that would have been a disaster myself though. The Olds engine at that time weighed something like 750 pounds.While the suspension on the AC wasn't "all that" it was superior to the Healey for sure! On that note, the small block Chevy wasn't far behind it, they are also a pretty heavy motor (still are for an iron small block). Especially compared to the new light weight small block 260-289 Ford engine of that time.

Here's one to mull over. What FOREIGN based body and American engine combo would YOU have used in 1959-1960 if you were setting out to build a new world class sports car? What combinations WERE even possible to consider? Masserati perhaps? Ferrari? Jaguar? MGB? Austin Healey we know about for sure, but I think it's basic suspension would have been a very poor choice. Largely it came down to who was willing to FINANCE the project, first, car/engine choice second.

Some engine choices are just so far "over the top" they can stand by themselves and need no justification. Viper V-10 I think is like that (not MY favoirte, but...). Certainly anything Hemi based has gotta be cool. You can't go wrong with a SOHC Ford in anything as well. Even a Jaguar V-12 is an excellent choice for a "hot rod", you don't see that very often.