I was thinking about this altered you are planning. A while back I read an article about a similar drag car, called the "Tuna Tank." (I didn't get the name either ) Anyway, it was an old time Fiat drag car, solid rear, I beam front end, mild big block Chevy, etc. The article was about how they dragged it out of long term storage, freshened it up a little, and hit the strip. It ran mid 9's. That's why I am saying with the light weight you are proposing a semi-built big block should get you in the 10's, if you are geared and tired right. One nice thing about a solid rear is that you don't have to fool around with suspension adjustments at all. You just play with tire pressure and what you get is what you get.

Don