[JSeery]

The SBC came out in 55 at 265 cubic inches, Ford didn't introduce the SBF until mid-61 (62 model year) and it was only 221 cubic inches. The in mid- 63 it was upped to 260 and then to 289. That gave the SBC about a 7 year head start in the Hot Rod world and that coupled with the fact it was almost a drop-in in the early Fords made it the go-to engine. Also, speed parts were everywhere for the SBC and cheap! With the SBF it took a while for anything other than Ford high performance parts to be available at affordable prices. In the early 60s we running a SBC in our B/A, but switched to a SBF in 66.

To me traditional Hot Rods were up to the 50s and early 60s. Even if you extend it into the late 60s, the SBFs were not that plentiful until things started moving into the Street Rod era.

I think the SBFs have a lot of advantages (and they are popular swaps now days) but got a late start and the SBC fan base was already well established. So, for a traditional Hot Rod, other than a flathead, it about has to be a GM product except for a few Mopar products.

One thing to be thankful for is a SBC installation often required little to no modification to the early Fords and can be easily converted back to a flathead!