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You have to admit that a 170HP large displacement V8 (very low state of tune) will still be qualitatively different than a 170HP B20 (pretty well modified). Just an entirely different torque curve. And I thiink many of the folks doing this want a car that isn't just quick, but downright seriously scary fast. More of a weekend toy than transportation.
The appeal of the 'ricer' motors is twofold, as I see it.
1) Cost - some of these motors have been produced in massive numbers in more recent decades, and they are easy and cheap to obtain from a junkyard in nice, low mileage condition. Like the ubiquitous Mustang 5.0 drivetrains - lots of Mustangs die quick deaths and leave behind 25K mile drivetrains that can be bought complete for less than a decent rebuild of a B20.
2) Some of the engines represent build levels that just simply can't be obtained with a B20 - at least not without spending astronomical amounts of money on custom built race parts on something that would more resemble a Nasa prototype than a motor you could drive for 100K miles. An example would be the Honda S2000 engine and drivetrain, available for about $5k (engine, 6 speed RWD trans, ecu). That gets you a 2 liter normally aspirated motor that revs to 8900 rpm and has 240 hp, probably well over what even the most highly tuned B20 motors running on race fuel ever get - and the Honda engine can do that for 100K+ miles. I think you'd spend well over $5k getting 240 HP out of a B20 (even pressurized), excluding a quickie boosted to heck B20 that will only last a few weeks. And a 6 speed manual too - all without weighing the nose down. SR20DET's are similar - a factory boosted engine made in large volumes, cheaply obtainable, easily tweaked into silly HP numbers.
Of course, that all being said, I'm still certainly not jumping onto the engine swap bandwagon. I've just spent a fair amount of coin rebuilding my PV's B20. The PV is a light car - much lighter than the 1800 and 122, and far lighter than the 140 and 240. Unless you are drag racing people (at a strip, come on people!) for money a warmed up B20 makes for a very quick PV.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.
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