The idea is to build an engine that looks factory stock on the outside but thumps with big-time power on the inside. I’m doing all this off the top of my head, but my last blog pitched the idea of a stroker 454 that would achieve 505 inches. The rules state that the engine must have the correct-sounding idle to it. First, we must put a bunch of compression in this thing—let’s start with around 13.5:1. Yes, race gas is legal. For idle quality, it seems to me that a late-closing intake lobe will bleed off the cylinder pressure down low. Then we spread the lobe-separation angle apart to mellow out the idle—maybe something like 116 degrees or more. Then we ran enough exhaust duration to blow the cylinder down even through a restrictive exhaust—we have to run exhaust manifolds, remember? Oh yeah, mechanical rollers are legal and noise won’t get you bounced. The rules say the engine must idle like a stocker, which to me means somewhere around 12 to 14 inches of manifold vacuum. That might be possible with this cam. A 375hp 396 used a 780 vacuum-secondary carb that could easily feed perhaps up to 550 hp. It’s an interesting shift in engine building. Even if you’re not into F.A.S.T., this is still the ultimate sleeper engine. You have what appears to be a bone-stock 396, but yet it’s really a 550hp 505-inch radical Rat. Call me esoteric, call me crazy, but I think this would be just too much fun. And for you Mopar and Ford guys, the idea works on any four-stroke engine—not just a Chevy.