But then the 5.0 is giving up 38 cubes. The 340 to 350 cube comparison is closer. The early 340s would probably win against most of the 350 cube comptition more often than not.
Used to be two friends in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada when we had the EIS facility. Both drag raced 340 Dusters. One had an automatic and the other was 4 spd. Winner depended solely on how they got of the lights. They could switch cars and the same happened. The General slush boxes were built for smooth Cadillac style shifts, not good for drag racing. Ford was in the middle.