The high winding skinny blocks are fun, but I still prefer the big torque numbers coming in at a lower RPM that you get from a long armed stroker engine. Small block chebbies and all the other engines will generally live a lot longer with components designed to build torque at a lower RPM.

Whatever engine combination you choose, it is going to take some suspension work to get the rear end hooked up and not just blow the tires off everytime you stab the throttle. Lots more involved in going fast then just having big horsepower and torque numbers. But hey, I'm a chassis guy, what did you expect to hear??????