We are from the same era I suppose. I grew up following Modifed Eliminator which were ALL stick cars and what would be considered micro sized engines that spun to the moon.
It was great watching those cars. Most were well under 300 inches (I know why that was but most on here won’t accept that truth because it fits right into what we are talking about here) with 50 pound flywheels and gearboxes you had to shift.
That’s why I build what I build. RPM is horsepower. Valve train is so much better than the junk they had in 1973 that it’s just crazy what those guys did with what they had.