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Original Message
Good info
By P - 11/29/2001 2:38:06 PM; IP 66.89.75.42
Hey, have you ever run into Curt Brayer, 2-time APBA record holder in F-Service Runabouts (a class that has been discontinued, so he'll hold the records forever)? He runs the DANCING BEAR (hemi powered) V-drive design designed and built by himself from wood and fiberglass, and was high-point-man 6 years in a row.

I was talking to him one day about motors, and he said the MEL 430 was a "skeleton in Ford's closet", but he did have a lot of good things to say about the 427. He apparently beat a few of em, but had enough respect for them to get some nice comments. You know, if you're the high point man, you're the crazy sonofagun out front of all the other crazy sonofaguns! (The water's a bit cleaner out front)

Interesting comments about the 385's. I keep thinking back into the 60's when Ford was proving their point on the track, and Pontiac (for instance) was resorting to marketing. Their engine(s) were good, like your comments about the 385, but we never got a chance to see if they would take the abuse of a 500-mile side by side dual on the big oval. My guess is the Pontiac would have been "toast" pretty quick, because it didn't get the gazillion dollars of R&D that Ford put into their brawler.

Guess my point is: the Poncho brought "cheap Chevrolet-type power" to the people, and won the war in the showrooms (and on quite a few dragstrips), when Ford was winning the war on the endurance racing circuits. I don't think a high power motor, capable of surviving the drag strip is in the same category as a 500-mile endurance racer, that's my point. I think the Poncho, for instance, just stayed on the porch because it didn't have a chance running with the big dogs from Ford and Chrysler (not without a LOT of R&D bucks like Ford and Chrysler had to put into their engines.................both of whom worked overtime to better each other, and spent gazillions of dollars).

I have s similar opinion of the 385. Sure, high horsepower potential, generally great setup, affordable, never really running at the peak stress for more than a few seconds at a time (except, of course, for those HIGHLY prepared offshore boating motors with the unobtanium parts, and I have to agree with you in that particular arena). Can you tell I'm a bit biased?

Regards, P
This thread, so far...
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Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9602&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9602" onclick="return false;">FE vs 385</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>mike smith, <i>11/27/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9602', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9602') }); </script>  FE vs 385 -- mike smith, 11/27/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9606&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9606" onclick="return false;">RE: apple vs. orange</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Dave Shoe, <i>11/27/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9606', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9606') }); </script>  RE: apple vs. orange -- Dave Shoe, 11/27/2001
 RE: Pressures of competition did them in -- Mel Clark, 11/28/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9614&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9614" onclick="return false;">RE: apple vs. orange</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>mike smith, <i>11/28/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9614', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9614') }); </script>  RE: apple vs. orange -- mike smith, 11/28/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9616&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9616" onclick="return false;">Reality versus dreams</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Royce Peterson, <i>11/28/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9616', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9616') }); </script>  Reality versus dreams -- Royce Peterson, 11/28/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9620&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9620" onclick="return false;">Not in the same class..........reality vs dreams !</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/28/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9620', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9620') }); </script>  Not in the same class..........reality vs dreams ! -- P, 11/28/2001
 RE: Not in the same class..........reality vs dreams ! -- swede, 11/28/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9631&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9631" onclick="return false;">RE: FE vs 385</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>RJP, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9631', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9631') }); </script>  RE: FE vs 385 -- RJP, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9640&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9640" onclick="return false;">RE: FE vs 385</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9640', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9640') }); </script>  RE: FE vs 385 -- P, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9647&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9647" onclick="return false;">RE: FE vs 385</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>RJP, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9647', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9647') }); </script>  RE: FE vs 385 -- RJP, 11/29/2001
Collapse <b>Good info</b>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/29/2001</i></font>Good info -- P, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9649&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9649" onclick="return false;">RE: Good info</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>mike smith, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9649', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9649') }); </script>  RE: Good info -- mike smith, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9650&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9650" onclick="return false;">unrestricted, the Hemi was better, but</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>mikeb, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9650', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9650') }); </script>  unrestricted, the Hemi was better, but -- mikeb, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9652&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9652" onclick="return false;">Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9652', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9652') }); </script>  Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here -- P, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9653&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9653" onclick="return false;">RE: Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9653', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9653') }); </script>  RE: Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here -- P, 11/29/2001
 RE: Let's put the hemi in it's proper perspective here -- mike smith, 11/29/2001
 RE: Good info -- RJP, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9656&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9656" onclick="return false;">chevy type power?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>mikeb, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9656', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9656') }); </script>  chevy type power? -- mikeb, 11/29/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9659&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9659" onclick="return false;">RE: Hemi? Better than what?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>RJP, <i>11/29/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9659', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9659') }); </script>  RE: Hemi? Better than what? -- RJP, 11/29/2001
 RE: Hemi? Better? Only in the minds of MoPar fans -- P, 11/30/2001
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=9676&Reply=9602><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor9676" onclick="return false;">RE: chevy type power?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>P, <i>11/30/2001</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=9676', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor9676') }); </script>  RE: chevy type power? -- P, 11/30/2001
 Hemi -- Rob, 12/04/2001
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