I totally agree except that half a century later, it’s hard to not to look at the difference between a 14.5 car and a 14.2 car and yawn. Back then, that those 3/10 of a second were important. Now, with base model 4cyl turbo Mustangs keeping right up with the 426 Hemi’s 1/4 mile times...I can’t get too worked up about it.
Any of those old engines can be built to be competitve with (or kick the *** of) modern tech. How they compared in showroom stock condition is just car history/trivia at this point. They’re all pretty amazing with a few mods and some elbow grease.
That’s just my opinion.
