There is a point (and I honestly don't know where that is these days) that a BBC is cheaper to build than a SBC. A stock 396 or 427 will make more torque in STOCK form because of the heads. Plain and simple the internal combustion motor is nothing but a big air pump. The more air you get IN and OUT, efficiently, the more power your going to make. The BBC heads are going to win hands down there every time. BUT.... if it takes $3500 or $4500 to totally refurbish a 427 BBC, you can build a decent 383 with a good head flowing in the 250-260+cfm range and make as much or more torque as the stock BBC. When I say 'totally refurbish' I'm not talking about a ring job and touch up the valves/seats. I mean replace the guides, probably new seats, some new valves....bore, new pistons, turn / tuen the crank, new cam/lifters, new rockers to replace the worn out stock slippers.... when you add it all up it get's pretty pricey. Sometimes for the same price you can buld a stroker SBC, hypereutectic pistons, cast crank, decent aftermarket rods, put a set of $1500 heads, $500 valvetrain on it and make a buttload more power than the stock BBC. Like mentioned, once you start finding / purchasing barcketry to switch from a SBC to a BBC,, you better add PLENTY to that budget. Oil pan, headers, everything you don't have adds to the cost. And that line,,,, that line where a more 'built' SBC is cheaper than a BBC gets more appealing all the time. Also,, there is that line there that once crossed, the SBC just doesn't make sense any more.
That's STRICTLY from a power standpoint and doesn't even attempt to address the 'street drivability' issue. And were not going to address the
COOL FACTOR of spanking the socks off those 'attention whoring' BBC with our little sbc's now are we
