Hey, lots of good points! One option nobody mentioned is the 393 stroker (of course also a 351 block)- crate or shortblock. Personally, I'd do the shortblock (has a GREAT cam already in it) and add AFR 185 heads - the heads it comes with are too small for that motor and cam. NOW - I've got that article on the long rod 351 - with the smaller street tw heads, it made 380hp at 5000 & 430 torque at 4000 with only a 220 @ 050 & 498 lift hydr roller cam and efi. With the R heads and same cam, it made 20 more of each at the same rpms. With a bigger cam, the R heads would be probably 20 more again of each. The engine ran shelf JE forged pistons with the Yates style valve reliefs that matched the comb chamber shape for very good quench. It used slightly modified 400 rods which are over 1/2" longer than stock 351, but wasn't up too far into the ring pack because the 351W is the tallest deck of all small blocks so has the most room for long rods. It was able to run 11 comp ratio and ran best at only 32 max advance - shows very efficient combustion - and did it on 87 octane even. The article referenced a similar build on a 350 Chev with similar results. I can email that article if anyone wants. The long rod 351 made very close to the same torque and not much less hp than the crate 393, with a smaller cam, did it on 87, and I'll bet with a heck of a lot less gas. With the same cam as the 393, I'll bet it would come very close to the same output on both torque and hp and run a heck of alot cheaper. Not saying that the 393 with AFR 185's wouldn't be a blast, though! As to tranny, how about a tremec, or a Richmond 5 or even 6 speed - either would handle just about any motor.
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