Dave ain't wrong about how the PERCEPTION of the old cars is. Just because they are the old cars does most definitely not maketh the better car. It has been sold to us that these newer cars are fine, but not in the same league as the older ones. It was a battle we used to have in the 5.0's heyday, all the old timers couldn't believe what my little blue LX would do, so I guess they chose not to believe it, and made the old car "legend" bigger. But at the myriad of strips, races I've been to in my life, these monster cube old hotrods, at the end, have defintely not outclassed any of the iron I've seen constructed since. The 9 was designed for NASCAR, so Ford could compete with the Hemi's. It was detuned(rather badly, from what Ford designers from that day have said in many publications) so they could peddle it on the street, making it rules legal to race, and they sold more copies than they wanted to. Holman and Moody could make it run like it should, but it weren't no street motor. If'n you want to race an old Ford, the 428SCJ, the old 427's, or a 71 Boss 351 is what you want. That being said, no matter what I've gotten any of my 9 5.0's to do(11.4's the black 86 ran), they still don't have the PERSONALITY my 69 GTO had. It felt like it'd kick any of my Mustangs ass's even though it surely couldn't, and I'll always have room in my garage, should I find one. The Boss 429 and the Shelby have the personality.