I would have to think most people in the market for Edelbrock RPMs or Air Wolfs, aren't considering them for a max effort small block.

I've been a Big block guy for 33 years. I understand all the nuances, pro's and cons, to everything from OOTB Stealths to Eddie RPMs, Stage VIs, SRs,-1s,B-1s etc. But when the ported X heads cracked on my 389 small block, I had no idea which way to go.

I decided on the Airwolfs based on the criteria of re-using my headers, rockers, etc. The advertised numbers looked better than most of the numbers advertised by commercially available Edelbrock Rpms. My 428 dynoed at 615 at 6500 with a 600 lift flat tappet cam, and while it peaked at 542 ft. lbs. at 4900, it was over 500 from 4200-6400. I'm looking forward to putting that fat torque curve to work on the street!

I couldn't believe the amount of small block guys I talked to who had suffered multiple problems with W-5, and Indy castings, but seemed willing to deal with it for the power numbers they were getting. Likewise, I was shocked at the money some guys are willing to spend to run hard with W-8, and W-9 stuff, made me seem pretty spoiled with all my big blocks! I just refuse to give up reliability, so I tend to be conservative, hopefully in the coming months, and at Drag Week 2014, we will find out if I made the right decision.