[Billy Nees]

or what combos can be built to run under the index and still afford food!
Billy Nees here, Dwight Southerland and I are going to share a few combos that we feel could be built for $5000 or less (or more) if you already have a body. I'm sure that there are other combos and personal favorites so feel free to share. Please feel free to critique our choices but let us try not to argue as Dwight and I have better things that we could be doing.
I'll go first so that I can toss out a "no brainer" (sorry for the blind side Dwight).

1982 Mustang with 2V 302/157/162.
I think at 162 factor any 2V 302 could go under the index but this one was overlooked by NHRA when they defactored the 2V 302 combos.
Big 2150 2V
Marine cam w/ .419/.443 lift
Aluminium intake
The 82 bodys all break in the mid 16s so they're all O/P/Q cars.
Hardest part to find will be the intake as it's specific to the car and were pretty much the first thing taken off and replaced with a 4V intake.
C4s are easy to come by and on our budget could be used with a fresh rebuild and a shift kit (and added to later as funds become available).
Stock 7.5 rear will work just fine with C4. Find junkyard Aerostar posi unit and check out 4X4 mags for gearsets (they are available).
Spend good money for good converter. I'd guess something that will flash to about 4300 to start. (could be the most expensive part you buy).
Scrounge for wheels but get good tires (I'm thinking 9X28 slicks on 8" wheels).
Cast piston short block is all thats needed as the motor will be making all of its power below 63-6500 rpm.Have the machine shop give the piston an extra thousandth of skirt clearance. Have the stock rods medium blasted and replace rod bolts. Mix and match the rods and pistons to get your best "balance" and "deck heights" (we can't afford a real "blueprint" job here, we can do that when we hit the Lotto). If crank needs to be cut then have it offset .013. Have the block honed with a plate even though it'll cost you (ring seal is important). If it's in the budget, get the block decked (make compression, it makes torque). I like nice, soft bearings (good old michigan 77s) and cheap,cast iron "rebuilders" rings (I like enginetech).
Get good valves and good valvejob.Don't get carried away with valvespring pressures (140 on seat will do). Get heads milled for correct chamber volumes (remember, compression!).
Don't get carried away with the cam! This motor won't spin anyway. Max valve lifts won't be that critical on a motor like this one. Find a cam with something in the neighborhood of 236 to 240 for duration @ .050
The only thing I would do to the suspension would be get the latemodel quad shock setup from a junkyard.
There! I built the car for you! I believe that anyone with some mechanical and tuning ability should easily be able to run under the P or Q index with this combo and although I didn't price it out, a good scrounge could get it done for under $5000 with some change for coffee!
Dwight, it would make a real fun stick car too with an 8.8 or 9" under it!