Love these engine posts. Have to agree with everyone here! I have one BB on a stand, looks odd. 
Like Gary, into small blocks. (bigger cubed ones) Not counting the 302, and a 64 327 I just gotta keep for ever.
Preaching to the choir, but it all depends on the package, big or small. Which equates to HP being made, demands on the components. I see countless posts on other sites questioning cam choices with no thought into head flow ,compression, springs, etc...
3300# "real street" car dipping in the 12's, literally tons of good GM parts out there. Bolt it together with ARP's.
Now the Gasser weighs in at 2250# , certed 8.5, Callies/Oliver/JE rotating assembly. Car's the epitome of " overbuilt" (which I am a proponent of) considering the class I like to run it in. Bringing it up on the primaries for launch and 6200 shift points pulls it there effortlessly. Beauty is maintenance pretty much consists of draining the water in winter and fluid changes. Far cry from the days of drag racing the Z with a manual trans. 7600 shift points. Apples and oranges, however talking purpose built vs. multi purpose.
Car did take a lot of abuse, more from my father. The Z really was a great "package" , but had it's weak areas.
Having walked all over this thread, I'll end it with a quote I read from an engine builder: " Easy and relatively cheap to get 500 HP out of a SBC...once!"
My first Chevy 302 came from a drag race '67 Z28 (ran by HOF drag racer Jack Cooley of Louisiana). He left the line at 10,200 rpm, and shifted at 9300 on his way to 11.6 ets running stock class (at the national record) in 1970 time frame. The engine was 'stock', although the crank and rods had been subjected to 'Hank the Crank' retouching, Forgetrue pistons 030 over but for dykes rings, lunati cam blueprinted to Z28 specs and rotated a couple of degrees, stock heads, intake, carb, headers and 7" slicks to be stock at that time.
The class rules changed in 1970-71, Jack sold the car complete to another HOF drag racer (Paul Vanderley) who was an engine builder and wanted to run his own engine, so I purchased the engine from Paul and installed into my '53 Henry J..
- 42 Ford straight axle, split wishbones, quarter elliptic sprung '57 Chevy rear with long Ford split wishbones welded to the rear axle as well....
old timey gasser...
To hear that engine rev would make adrenaline pump thru my body and my hair to stand on end..
Gary
