360-383 A-debate...max builds need not apply.
@AJ/FormS
I just want to understand the nose-heavyness assertion.
Having had a ‘71 Duster & a ‘79 Magnum with a 5.9 - 360 & a ‘78 - 400, both stock and both with aluminum intakes and headers only, nether being equipped with A/C or P/S ether, there is a noticeable difference.
The extra weight up front can be felt during acceleration. On cornering, you can feel the weight taken on by the big block. The nose feels and acts heavier. The car will lean in heavier in a turn.
on braking, I didn’t feel there was much of a difference in it except initial pedal effort.
Im not sure what the individual components of the engine weigh in at. Or what the weight savings would be in changing to aluminum. What I do know is the overall aluminum out fitting of a B engine can lighten it up to approximately a all iron small block more or less within a few pounds. This is making the B engine attractive.
The small block will always be lighter which of course makes it more nimble for cornering and drag. But simply limited in overall power production and therefore performance in drag racing. Running around twists and turns will simply take serious suspension work no matter the engine. But the B-R/B has penalties limitations.
What ever you can do in moving under hood stuff around will apply to both engines. So it is a wash. It simply boils down to the weight of the short block as the dividing factor which can’t be changed. Or changed much at all. If you want to machine each block externally, the big block still has more iron everywhere. It can only go so far with each engine family.
