yes, i always get ask how much horsepower i have, in my (sandrocket,) i just tell em it gets me up the hill.
im running a (BUILT) 383 stroker (bowtie) motor with a blower on it w/10lb of boost. it seems plenty fast for me.
but i also have the advantage of not having the front end coming up on me as alot of rear end mounted motors do. my rail is as close to a dragster as you can get. im also using a jaguar rear-end with a 4.86
gear. i'm happy with it. yes im running a built automatic trans as well.
hp is not as important as knowing how to properly drive the thing. and as someone said you need to experiment with tires as well. the smaller the tire the lower gear you have at the rear. etc.
I GUESS THESE DAYS ,ITS NOT THE HP,THAT COUNTS. IT'S HOW YOU USE IT. LOL