Brian at IMM who I purchased my heads from certainly got good power from the thumper in the 360 and 408.
Folks scoff at the idea of making any compromise in performance whatsoever to gain an idle that tickles the ears.
Well, fine, but that makes no sense to me. I absolutely love certain engine sounds. The starting cough cough sputter and rough idle of a big radial like the DC3s I used to work on is almost akin to making love. It just tickles a special part of the brain. Anyone who has been to an airshow and heard either a big radial or V12 in a warbird cruise by at close range... if it didn't make your heart pound, well there's something just missing.
The lovely sound of a V8 cannot be matched by anything with fewer cylinders. I don't understand why. I don't need to. And when the idle has a lope to it, well, now it's reminiscent of the sound of the big birds. Will I take a small hit in performance to hear it? All day every day.
Truth is I will likely exceed the original performance goals I had for this car. I'm kinda hoping I didn't overdo it and wind up breaking too much running gear.
Why do we build these cars? Some like a pure repro. Mine is heavily modified. There are many things that enter the equation. Bottom line its whatever turns YOUR particular crankshaft. Right?
You have to hear the idle before shutdown at 3:00. Turn up the sound!!
I've been around the modern fighter jets a lot. Awesome in their own way. But the sound of the piston powered warbird is on another level.
