well, i know my shit will probably blow up now because i said it....but even my gen 1 sbc has treated me well over the last year+ in the RX7. building a 350-400hp sbc/sbf seems to be alot less straining on an engine that spins 5500-6000rpm, whereas you have full effort 4 cylinders that barely make those same numbers and are really pushing the limits as it is. some people say i prefer domestic, which is fine, if honda or someone else made a V8 that i could find in any junk yard, has 50 years of aftermarket, and every setup imaginable has been tested on it, then yea, i would use one of those other blocks. its just hard to stay away from tried and true methods, especially when its so economical in terms of bang for the buck. which is why the LS1 is such a decent alternative. you are barely sacrificing anything and what is sacrificed is returned 10 fold in other aspects of the conversion.