[Eric in the Ozarks]

Caprice. The 396 was rated at 425 horsepower but was closer to 525. I think insurance had something to do with this. All but the tube headers were stock GM issue.
I learned that these big blocks can't take a hard whipping like the small blocks. One day, the big motor shook hard and "boom." A trail of oil followed me to the side of the highway.

[IYAS9YAS]

I learned that these big blocks can't take a hard whipping like the small blocks. One day, the big motor shook hard and "boom." A trail of oil followed me to the side of the highway.

Yeah, I used to shift that 327 at about 6,800 rpms when racing, missed a few shifts before getting the tranny rebuild (had a nasty little habit of not actually going into second gear, thought it was the linkage, but was an internal problem - it was a twenty-year old transmission).

I sold it and the guy who bought it from me raced it as well. About ten years or so after my dad and I built that motor, the new owner tore it down, other than a single broken piston ring, it went back together without any machine work being needed.