how much $ do you have???
i am doing a stroked 351 swap right now. i am going carbed, and i have a big cowl hood. i don't know if you ever put a HP figure into this, but even the thinnest cast 351 blocks will handle sick amounts of power. an aftermarket block is always better, but it's $$$$. i bought a 351 out of a van complete. i had it delivered to me for $250. i ended up selling all the stocker parts for about 1K !
! that payed for (most) of my stroker kit.
[img]http://www.****************/ims/u/603/754/4827.jpg[/img]
I love my cowl.
everything i have read says that a cowl is in order. heck, even my cobxplorer intake would have needed some room under the stock hood. i am sure you could do it, but why limit the intake you can run? some people say vert mounts, and k-members will be needed but i found a hood cheaper. i would love the benefits of a aftermarket k-member, but there is a lot of money needed for this swap. i started out thinking i could do this really cheap, turns out i have about 2k in the block,machining, roatating assembly. another 2k in the valve train, 7 qt pan, headers, heads, fuel pump lines, and lower intake.
At this point i will need a clutch, carb, and some misc stuff (throttle linkage, etc...) and this is all running thru a stock t-5, so a trans will be on the list next winter.
this also assumes you have your car frame tied, and have a decent exhaust, stuff like that. i have sold lots of my old stuff to finance this build. this is thge cheapest way i see how to do this. you can do whatever you chose, but if $ IS an issue, then follow my advice.
good luck.