I'm not talking literally B3, just perspective, I guess. I've been to 75+ Mopar only races in the last 20 years, (first was a little 1 day deal in Tulsa in 1992). YES, I've seen the same tons of 10 second cut-up cars, I just never felt that they were slugs just because mine was faster. As I once told a friend, "I've never made a boring 10 second run, enjoyed all of them".

So, I'll give you my perspective, and maybe all you smallblock guru's can help me out.
A big block guy forever, been in the 8's with a nothin' solid cammed 440/eddie headed motor and plate system, been 9's NA with everything from an SR headed 440 to a 440-1 stroker, all of them with little to no reliabilty issues.

Then I fall in love with a cute little 62 Valiant that a friend has been bracket racing. The car goes 10.90's in the winter and 11.20's in the summer, but after 5 or 6 years he parks it, 5 or 6 more years later, I finally buy it.
It's a 4 bolt X block, standard bore, with stock rods, and ross pistons sticking .040 out of the hole on a nice early MP 3.79 stroke crank, upon re-building it I tossed the old MP 296-557, and went with a Hughes solid 260-264/587-594 which I had ground on a 110 lsa 'cause I'm a nitrous junkie. The stock heads had been ported massively by an ex SuperStock racer and stuffed with 2.05-1.60 valves with an M-1 and a 750 annular discharge carb. I just had everything freshened, and dumped the 1008's for a set of cometic head gaskets. Swapped out the 4.88s and put 4.30s, and put a Griner brake in low gear set 904.
It went 10.70-122 with a 130lb jockey behind the wheel. 10.89-121 was my best, with 11.10's in less than favorable conditions. The skinny driver put it in the wall a year later, and I decided upon tackling the rebuild that it would be a street car from then on. So, since then it has gotten, new wheels and tires, dynamat and new carpet, new tubular K-member and Qa-1 adjustable aluminum shocks at all 4 corners, and exhaust. 3.89 gears are added, but it retains the spool and ladder bars.

So I go on Drag Week in the Modified NA class and drive 1400 miles in a week, and Average 11.44, getting soundly trounced by sixpackgut's simple, straightforward BB car. I had borrowed a 950 carb, that required massive jet changes between street and track, and never ran close to the MPH of the old carb, so I had planned a return to the 750 annular when I got home, but alas, one of the 40 year old ported stock heads had enough of all that cruising at 210 degrees, and started sucking water.

So here I sit. I can take the beating that a 2900 lb. ladder bar/ spool car with plastic racing buckets can dish out, but I want a decent time slip for my troubles! I'm not as greedy as Mike..seriously, 10.30-10.40, NA would be fine, and then there is always a plate system on any ride of mine.

So, I have a full W-5 topend...rockers, intake, but the heads have been run hard, by a friend of mine, and he sold them to me cheap, because he was tired of repairing water leaks. Epoxy in the roofs, If it was a race car, I'd chance it...street car, I'm scared to death!
W-2's? I'd rather go with aluminum, but what? I get on Moparts and hear horror stories of Indy 360-1 CNC heads leaking, I talk to tons of racers claiming porosity problems with W-5 stuff, and even the same story on Indy 360-2 stuff. Everybody loves thier Eddy's, but is that enough to get me there without killer compression and a roller cam?

The 230 low deck block, and MCH ported stealths I have sitting around are looking better and better, I know a 470 solid cammed flat-top Big block would run 10.0's, be reliable, and nearly run 8's on the hose, just resisting cutting the little car up to shoehorn it in there.

So lay it out for me, how do I get there? Preferably without throwing the 3.79 crank in the trash. I mean if Mid-9's are easy without anything exotic, surely these small block guru's can cook me up a solid cammed, 3.79 stoke combo to go 10.30? Just has to putt down the road on pump gas, I'll pour in the good stuff when I get to the track! Also, I'm not a dedicated Small block homer, so make sure I can screw it togather for only a grand or so more than what that 470 will set me back.