The 302 is out primarily because it won't produce enough hp to weight for this car and still give a smooth ride. I have considered building a 351 Windsor block which is virtually identical in the bottom end to the 350 Chevy, but has the adantage of the distributor being in the front. The last one that I built was a blue printed .040"+ HO version that gave an honest 350 hp with a smooth idle! The Ford transmission will also fit in the tranny tunnel on the 780 while the Chevy requires modifications that I do not want to make. The 32 valve Ford Motor does have issues, so that is just a thought at this point.

I talked to a buddy that installs the old Chevy powerglide on his Ford engines for drag racing and he wants to have a go at building the adapter to bolt the AW71 to the Chevy or Ford motor that I decide to use. That would be a real plus and would greatly simplify the installation.

The 215 CID Buick was used by OMC for marine outdrives many mooons ago. I have rebuilt this engine and consider it too small for the 780. It only gets about 10mpg in the River also.

I think the Ferrari engine would be hard to find parts for in South Dakota or anyplace in between.

Thanks,
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Will Dallas, www.willdallas.us, www.willdallas.org, www.willdallas.com, www.dallasprecision.com 86 245 DL 222K miles, 93 940 260K miles, 88 765 GLE 152K miles