A guy at the local strip had a bone-stock ZZ502 (502 HP) in a mid-'70s Vette in April, backed by a THM400, 'on-sale' converter, 3.90:1 gears, & 29" M/T slicks. Ran 12.03 @ 112 his only run; buster rear gear & one axle on his next launch. It was way too cool, on pump-gas, to boot!!! Hasn't been back yet; said he was putting a 9" Ford in it this time!!!
I have a zz502 in my 73. I have about 5500 miles on it so far. I find it
it is very streetable, so long as you don't mind a little rumble while it idles. I drove it to work today, and I will be flying the stars and stripes tomorrow for sure! (see picture below) The fan shroud is a must too keep things cool on a 90F day.
My rear axle is a 3.08, and the transmission is a TH400. The rear tires are
265M50R15. Cruising at 60Mph runs the engine at 2900rpm.
I have a 454HO in my car with a ZZ502 cam. Don't know how it feels in the 502, but in my motor it produces a pretty good lope. Not unreasonable, but you gotta like lope to like it. I have a TH400, 2100-2300 stall converter, and 3.70's. I am going to the dragstrip tomorrow for the first time with it, so I guess we'll see.
I have one in my vert and think it is very streetable. My only issue is I need a better cooling system, it overheats a tad in traffic but cools right off above 30MPH. It only has a small electric fan right now and it needs to be upgraded to something a bit better. I would have a 502 in all my cars if I could afford it.