I was going to stick this in the G3 thread, but thought I would put it out there separately so as to not get that one too far off track. Opinions are welcome, real world experience appreciated

Drag race (not a TnT car, real racing) 400+ inches, NA, carb, reasonably flat torque curve, 800-850HP, mid 8s @160MPH at 23-2400#, reliable, 150-175 runs/year changing oil and adjusting valves and a freshen over the winter. None of this is exotic or unusual.

Starting with nothing, LA, LA/P7 or G3? Why? Budget needed for each? I will assume a Ritter or R3 block for an LA combo.

At that light a weight, I'd look for and repurpose a r5/p7.

Honestly, if they had a taller deck available where you could get some stroke - maybe even closer to 4.00/4.25 - without getting ugly on the rod ratio, that would be a no brainer. I'd really like some grunt.

I’m not up on what the costs would be for any sb or g3 build at that level, but that power level wouldn’t be that hard to reach with an LA these days.

Victor heads, Ritter block, and Brett Miller has a killer new intake manifold that has already been tested at north of 900hp on a low-400” build with a cam that’s not a parts killer.

If you know what to do with them, the G3 is probably the cheapest.

Respectfully speaking, 800-850HP is some grunt. You could even put a 3 speed behind it if you wanted more SLR/'grunt'. If this is a bracket car, wouldn't having big lower-end power seem to work against you under typical bracket (bad track) conditions?

Throttle stop racing. SLR around 8.50. Like to have a flat torque curve. Perhaps I should have said low end (sub 6-6500) grunt. In a world where 598+" big blocks are the norm, I don't want to be at to much of a disadvantage.

Aren't the roots blower motors making huge power at lower RPMs?

I sure wish the helliphant wasn't just marketing BS. That would fill the bill, especially under 3000 lbs.

I would like to see the xr blocks for p7 heads actually enter the market. A big inch p7 would be a real power house.
Ernie Elliot makes an aluminum block for the P7. I believe it is capable of 440 inches. Never saw one, but it is listed on their website.

Gen III would probably be the most economical solution, but my admittedly distorted thoughts are, a hemi is not complete without a blower.

I know of one that exists, and runs. The R5P7 stuff is easy to find and reasonably priced compared to the LA stuff. There's a reason you've never seen an EEI aluminum R5.