65 Biscayne

[Alan Roehrich]

If Dwight says you can't make minimum weight with an iron head engine, I'd bet he is correct. Now, the flip side to that is that you can use the aluminum replacement head (fund the purchase by selling your iron heads, you can likely get twice the cost of a set of aluminum castings for your iron castings), take the 10HP penalty (85# in B/S) and lose about 60# off the front. The question will be whether the slight loss of lift as compared to the later cam will hurt much.

The truth is, with the rules as they stand, you'd honestly be a LOT better off to sell the whole 396/375 4 speed combo that you have to a person who needs it to restore a car. Then go buy an old 2 bolt main 454 block, a steel 396/427 crank, a set of 401 heads, and a 359 intake. Is that in line with the original intent and spirit of Stock Eliminator? No, not by a long shot. However, I've seen the heads go for near enough to buy a new set of complete 401 heads from a top name builder. Think what a complete engine with matching casting dates would bring! You could easily get near half way to the price of a complete engine from a good builder ($12K to $18K depending on who builds it and how much you want).

Now, I'm sure there'll be someone along shortly to cry out "sacrilege", "blasphemer", or "he's the anti-Christ". But you asked how to best build your car, and not how to build an old school car. It is not at all uncommon to see an engine/transmission combo like yours, provided the casting numbers and date codes match up, bring well over $10K from a restoration buyer who needs what you have. And you're actually doing the restoration crowd, and maybe the rest of us too, a favor by NOT building a race engine out of parts that could be used to restore a car to close to original. As well as helping your budget and getting the most competitive piece for your money.

In the end, it is your car, they are your parts, and it is your money, make yourself happy. Good luck to you.