You've pretty much have perfected the potential of the small block, your #'s prove it.
Don't sell yourself short, it's guy's like you that have done the leg work and share their knowledge. my hat's off to you :thankyou:
I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. While working at the gas station almost every single night a 1967 bright yellow mustang would come by the station. I very nice but plain looking 1968 camero would always be with him. This mustang just rumbled with what I later found were 4.30 gears. I finally got a chance to talk to them at my local McDonalds and as I drove by I go called out. I wise assly said ya I want to race the mustang. Are you sure? Yep I’m sure. So off to the expressway we went. When we would race someone would pull directly behind us and beep their horn three times. On the third beep we took off and I beat him by around three car lengths. As I slowed down my car started steaming so I pulled off the side of the road. His first words were damn then he introduced himself. We talked then took a peek to see what happened to my car. It was a small leak in my bypass hose so he grabbed some duct tape out of his trunk and taped it up. We drove to their hangout (Amoco Gas Station) and we have been friends ever since. Both four speed cars my 340 beat his 390. Great times. We kept getting faster and faster over the years but even after he moved on to a 428 engine I was undefeated against him. The plain Jane camero was a 327 four speed and we went back and forth wins till I started running 11’s. His camero still sits in a garage but hasn’t raced in probably 30 years.