IndyBlk5.0 said:Honestly I think they are good engines for what they are, but not for performance applications. This is due to the fact that a 302 aftermarket is huge, and a 300 I6 aftermarket is very small.
It's true the 302 aftermarket is huge and the 302 makes amazing power. By comparrison the 300 I6 aftermarket is not vey small, it's extremely small. However popular the 302 is now, there are people that want to experiment and do something different. 30 years ago the 302 was nothing more than a passenger car engine. If you wanted speed, you built 351C's and FE's if you were a Ford guy. If not into Ford, you built a Chrysler or a Chevy. To simply dismiss the 300 because of what it is shows no imagination. The hot rodder in me says "I wonder what it can do?" We know what a 5.0, Cleveland, big block and 4 cylinder can do. What else can we play with? The 300 I6 is very tough and very plentiful. Could be fun to play with and see what it can do.
Give me $5000 and a 5.0 engine and I'll order up a bunch of stuff and have a very powerful engine. But nothing anymore interesting than the other billion Mustangs out there. Innovation is falling of for the 5.0 and the 4.6 is growing, but they are not that exciting to a lot of people any more (myself included).
Give me $5000 and a 300 I6 and I'll do some creating and intersting stuff to it that hasn't been done before.
No.....unusual and forgotten engine's get my mind going. Buick Nailhead, Cadillac 472/500, Flathead Ford, Chrylser Hemi (the early ones), Ford Y-Block and Buick 215 Aluminum V8 to name but a few. Those are interesting simply because they are not a 302 Ford or a 350 Chevy. I love my 302 for what it can do, but it doesn't get me excited or interested like it used to. It's become too blah.