As much as we car nuts rag on the other guys because they like Ford, or Chevy, or Mopar, etc, etc, the fact is every American car manufacturer has turned out some really fantastic products over the years. To say one is better than another is pretty tough. Even companies like American Motors, which is out of the mainstream compared to Ford and Chevy, has built some very impressive engines and cars.

Another factor in a hot rod engine is "prettiness." Some engines are just prettier and have less components hanging off of them than others. One example would be the 430-455 Buick motors, very good engines but not very pretty in a hoodless car. Things like oil pumps hanging off that make them not only difficult to fit into an early chassis, but also that make them kind of spread out cosmetically. That is a subjective observation, but I think everyone will agree that the Chevy sb and Ford sb are "tighter" in their appearance and doll up better.

But just when you make a statement like that someone builds a car with one of the less attractive engines and blows everyone away.

Don