This is just some racing trivia, for the sake of discussion.
If, after considering the pros & cons of building a Stocker, you decide against it, but would still like to enter one or more of the divisional races, you might wanna consider building a Super Street class car. All you have to do is cut a good light & run a 10.90.
It's a lot easier & cheaper to build a 10.90 S/ST car than a legal mid 11 sec 400 powered '68 Bird Stocker. There are no stroke, cube, cam, carb, or intake limits. And you can run big tires & a lighter weight. Will also make a good bracket car. So, you can build it as a dual purpose car. That will allow the driver & crew to become very familiar with the car, while bracket racing. That should make it easier to dial it in to the 10.90 index, when running S/ST.
For bracket & S/ST, I recommend a Powerglide trans. Less chance of traction loss, at launch, and the potential to be more consistent, because of only one shift to make. Lots of online die-hard TH400 guys have disagreed with me, about the Glide. But, at our local tracks, the Glide has been the trans of choice for most of the bracket racers, for many years. A JW Performance Ultra Bell is good insurance for a Glide, and mates it to the Pontiac engine without an adapter.
Another option is a 2-speed TH400. Same principal--only one shift. Nowadays, either trans can be built to withstand 2000hp & more, tho you won't need one that strong, to run 10.90's.
