Question about the price of 340s

the 340 motor in my original 68 formula S had an edlebroc alluminum high rise manifold, hooker fenderwell headers, a holley 750 dp carb and a "viscus drive" clutch fan. other than that, it was stock - all the internals were OEM. my "Sun Super" Tach had its red needle set on 6k but in many a street race, the needle was still moving when i would power shift. except for the 69 Z/28 302, there were very few engines other than the 340 that would go to 6k on a regular basis without a serious risk of a BIG BANG coming from under the hood.


just for the record, here's a list of old "stock muscle car" motors that exceeding any RPM over 5500 was playing "Russian roulette:" chevy 396, 427; ford 390, 428, 429 (not the 429 "hemi" motor); pontiac 389, 400, 428, 455; olds big block; buick 455. you could take 440 and 426 hemi mopars to 6k but it was a "scary experience."