This whole "fastest Street Car" thing has got, in my opinion, asinine. The same with what is considered a "pump gas motor".
Shops will build anything a customer wants. It's the customers money. But I talk to guys, usually younger men, who want a real hot rod, watch these shows on TV, and think that they want something like that.
And, they also want to jump in it and drive it anywhere, any time.
Someone will tell them that they need a .720 lift cam, with 270 degrees duration at .050 and 12 to 1+ compression, because we all know that will build a lot of power in any 454+ inch engine. The only problem is, all of that power will be in the upper RPM band, you will have to run a 4000+ stall or more converter to even get it to drive at normal speeds, and you will be ordering drums of Sunnoco Race gas. Or, run E-85.
And, you better have manual brakes, or a hyraboost, because the thing won't make 5 inches of vacuum at idle.
I tell them to build the biggest inch engine they can afford, get the best cylinder heads you can afford, and go with a Hyd Roller Cam in the .240 at .050 range. If you are willing to build a 496, (a very affordable package nowadays), you can make 600 HP, that much torque down in the range where you need it, run a 2500 stall converter, keep the compression at 10 to 1 with a tight quench area, and have something that will still scare the cr-p out of you and be a pleasure to drive.
Add a 150 shot if you think it needs it. The motor doesn't know it's even there until you flip the switch.
Hot Rodding hasn't changed much through the years. Enthusiast are still building engines with too much cam, to big of a carburetor, and too much compression, for the realities of the street. These shows that are all over cable TV don't help much, they are simply exercises in doing what can be done if you are willing to sacrifice just about every other aspect of automobile performance for a 1/4 mile time slip.
I suppose Erica Enders could put some headlights, taillights and windshield wipers on her Pro Stocker and call it a "street car" because that is about how stupid all of this has become.
In my opinion, (and only that), a real street car should be able to burn what is in the local corner store pump, and sit in 5 o'clock traffic in the middle of July without cooking down.
