NA power. Yes, there are a lot of old school ways to make 400rwhp. Except for power, there are many aspects that the 408 would not be able to match. First, the cost is really no less. The 408 would be more at home in a drag car, IMO, as it wouldn't be as reliable (or at least, it couldn't go 100,000 miles without maintenance and making similar power to when it was fresh). How much power is the 408 going to make on 87?..none, because you probably couldn't run it. It's going to be limited in RPM (or you'll put a solid roller in it and have even more maintenance). It's going to be heavy as hell.

Let me put it this way - I'm not up to date on my Formula 1, so forgive me on the inaccuracies but... F1 engines (that I read about in the past) made 800-900hp. These days, we all know the recipe for making over 1000hp (dart, turbo, good heads...on and on) but will that engine do it turn after turn, lap after lap? Hell no - it would be luck to make 3-4 turns before spewing. The difference we are talking about isn't as big as the F1 vs Pushrod Ford, but still - it's just not the same.

There's always a cheaper way to do something. It's hard to argue though that this motor really closed the gap on HP per $ - and does it in a modern package. It always costs money to go fast, especially NA fast, and ESPECIALLY reliable NA fast. Yes, you can throw a carb on an old motor and make good power but HP per $ spent is pretty close to the same at this point. It's really what you're most comfortable with, tuning wise.

So I still maintain (and I'll clarify a little)....Compared to other reliable (long lasting, OEMish, EFI) NA FORD solutions, it's hard to beat this motor for the $.