Yes to all that.
But a 4-500 Hp small block is not going to sound sleeper at all. I'd look for a smallish 4 door of some sort with a Magnum-based 360 or stroker in it. Even better would be 5.7 Hemi as it's lighter and 400 honest HP is automatic. Ever notice how quiet a 5.7 Hemi is with manifolds? It sounds absolutely nothing like 400 HP.
Anyone remember the rusty 80's(?) Dodge truck at the Moppar Nats 7-8 yrs ago? It was OMT (Old Man Tan) with an aluminum ladder rack on the roof. The first reaction when seeing it on the strip was, WTH? But then he knocks off a high 12 sec run in the 1/4 and it soon became a crowd favorite. It was an actual everyday work truck being used by the owner in his carpentry or home improvement job. When the 318 gave out, he needed to get it back to work ASAP so he threw in a 340 he had laying around. I think he was from NJ.
Another tme at the Nats, there was a big smoky burnout in the Burger King parking lot on Brice. I looked over and all I saw was a plain jane 4 door Chevette. After he parked and opened the hood, it was obvious that a SBC fit pretty well. It still had the stock wheels w/ the hubcaps and there was no clue on the outside. He was running full exhaust but it had large twin quiet pipes dumping in front of the axle painted black so they were hard to see. To complete the fakery, he had welded a tiny exhaust pipe into the system and ran it out the under the bumper so it stilll blew smoke like stock.
My favorite of all time though was an article I saw in a Mopar mag sometime in the last century. It was written by a Chrysler factory engineer telling about how he and his buddy put a 392 Hemi into a plain old Plymouth. (may have been mid to late 50's) The outside was completely stock but they got it running extremely well for what it was. They used to go out cruising on the weekends in Detroit and find some hot street racer and then blow the poor schmuck into the weeds. They got so good and were having so much fun that they even hooked up a trailer with a light aluminum boat on it. Then they'd pull up beside some hot-cammed 57 Chevy or corvette at a light and casually keep up with him when the light turned green. Naturally, at the next light, the Chebby driver would think I'll show these old ggezers what fast is and try to hole shot the old 4 door Plymouth. That's when the Mopar guy would step it up. It's bad enough getting embarrassed in your shiny hot rod by a clapped-out 4 door Plymouth, but then to get passed by a boat? He said usually the poor guy would meekly turn off at the next opportunity.
