I really appreciate all the responses and all made very good points. I really need to decide what I'll be using the car for mostly to determine what type of engine I'll need. I realize now that street/strip is a vague description and that wasn't very helpful. What I really want is to go Pat's route and do a BBC that sounds and performs like you'd expect one to do at the track. That is my roots and what I'd enjoy the most. At the same time I'm trying to be realistic and am wondering just how much time and $$ I'll have to spend at the track. That's where my "street" thoughts come into play and caused me to wonder if I can have both. Dave is right in that trying to mix the two will cause me to compromise on the street side or the strip side. I've never had any experience with SBC or the LS personally other than some of my racing buddies in the 80's ran with the SBC. I do know you can get good HP and TQ with a SBC and I like the way they sound when built for the strip. But I don't know much about the LS engines at all. Can they be made to sound and operate like an old school hot rod?

Thanks again for all the input. Any and all information is welcomed and appreciated.