Yes. Because as it was said earlier, a well prepped & thought out 360 with excellent heads will kill a 408 with stock heads.
The cylinder heads is the difference I would go in but I also see zero fault in doing the stroker short block first. It’s part of the goal. Any movement towards the goal is a home run.
The stroker will have a massive off the line or slow rolling low rpm get up and go feeling.
The 5.9 with cylinder heads and a (better) cam will deliver a great top end charge.
Search for part two of that video I posted above. They change the cam, give it TF heads, etc… IMO, it really is an excellent combo they came up with that is easily streetable.
Never mind, I had to go look for it myself.
Here ya go!
