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Mike, you are a true GearHead.I picked up a used 350 and had it bored .030 over, Speed Pro hypereutectic pistons at 11.5:1, 480 lift 290 dur camshaft, Weiand high rise single plane intake, Edelbrock 650 carb and the old Blackjack AlumaCoat headers.
That WAS the SBC that was in all of the Chevy speed books and magazines at the time. Proven combination that just, like you said, worked. Then World Products came out with the Sportsman II SBC head, and making horsepower became much easier and cheaper.
A lot of people don't realize all of the engineering and testing that goes into building crate motors, that at $10,500, like you found out was a bargain.
Picking out all of the right pieces to build a high performance engine in the 1980's was still a guessing game for most hot-rodders. You read about it in a magazine and that is how we did it in those days.
The only reason that I can put a motor together for $4500 is I buy all of the parts direct from the manufacturer, camshafts, pistons, etc... and I have used the same vendors for my machining for over 45 years. That and I do all of the inspection and assembly myself. Things like filing rings and o-ringing heads. I was taught by experienced race-car mechanics. My best friend's FIL owned a race car shop called "the Garden Grove Auto Clinic", and I learned a lot from those guys.
My first complete engine rebuild was in High School. My Sophomore year a student dropped some ball bearings in the Principal's pickup truck when it was getting a tune-up, and needless to say, some pistons and valves got banged up a bit. Lol
The teacher tapped me to do the rebuild because I was good friends with his best student that had just graduated. It was a 292 Ford Y Block, and needless to say, High School was a breeze for me after that. Talk about getting a Get Out Of Jail Free Pass................ I actually majored in Machine Shop, but I had my own car and driver's license by my Junior year. It was a 1961 Nash Metropolitan, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.
I got my 65 Mustang next, but it was a rust-bucket and I junked it and got my 67 'stang that I still have.
Circa 1993 on my way to a race at Carlsbad Raceway on the Southbound 5 Freeway, just past San Onofre, SoCal.
4:11 gears, 3500 stall converter, C-4 trans. 12-1 compression 358 cubic inch Windsor, with a 7500 rpm redline.
Also 3" exhaust and Flowmasters, 2 1/2" over the axles out the back.
The MT 26.5x10x15 slicks and floor jack are in the trunk. Best ET with that combination was 11:99 @114.57mph.
This is at LACR, Palmdale SoCal. Duel In The Dessert, 1993.
I was racing in the Street Legal 1 Category at the time and won the race. You can barely see the decals on the front fender, but one of them was from B&B Chevrolet and they gave me a check for $100 just for having the decal on the winning car! I also got $275, a set of spark plugs and a cap.
After the new paint job!