[Laneco]

I've got a pair of iron ram-horn manifolds that I had jet-coated inside/out.

They would be legal. They aren't 40 year old manifolds, I bought them new about eight years go, ran on a SBC transplant in a Jaguar for about 3 or 4 years.

If you're interested, the price would be right.

My luck with M-21's seems to be greater than what everyone else here is reporting. I had a Saginaw that I drove pretty hard for about ten years before it spit the bit. Had it overhauled, but it was never the same.

As shocking as this may sound, given the speed that oval cars run, the flat track, and probably a pretty big power band on the engine, an automatic might not be that bad. I know, I know, heresy...

Another legal thing that will help you is the fuel pump. The old SBC and BBC have the mechanical pump mounted in the same place. Pick up a pump from an early 70's big block Caprice with air or similar. What you're looking for is alot of volume (and these babies pump it out) and a return fuel line. This will help keep the fuel temps down. Obviously there are aftermarket pumps with great volume, but the return fuel from the pump is your good buddy.

If you go the 327 route listed above, any high performance passenger car from the early/mid sixties is a good donor. These are all high nickel four bolt main blocks. There are big and small journal, you want big journal. The most common heads on these performance motors are 1.94. Don't overlook them in your quest for 2.02. The 2.02 is the most desirable for race (on the street 1.94 is probably better) but these are all old castings. Look real close at the 2.02 heads, many of them are cracked between the valve seats. Use it as a point of negotiation. They aren't junk, they can be fixed but it will cost money. The humps in the castings tell you it's a performance head, then roll it over and double check the valves. On a 2.02, they damn near touch. 1.94 has a bit of space between.

If your rules allow aftermarket heads, go with the iron Darts. Good stuff, and you could be into them for less than good rebuilt 2.02's.
angela