The dumbest thing I ever did was sell all the Zetec FC stuff when I had the Citation FC done. When I took apart the Zetec (new crate engine), it was by far the nicest stock engine I've ever seen.
Another dumb thing I did was put a Pinto in the Citation after selling the Zetec stuff and removing the FB stuff. When I went out with the Pinto last year, the Zetec's walked away (more like ran away). The Pinto engine and LD200 were the same units I had run in the old RF93 and was able to keep up with the Zetec's back then (a few years ago). That's my experience with the progression of the Zetec power.
My beef with SCCA is lack of a class management plan. Everything is reactive (and years behind at that!) rather than pro-active. What will FC look like three to five years in the future? This desired end-state is what needs managed to. Pro-active class management will improve stability and potentially bring more cars out.
Even though I'm glad to hear of Frog's suggestions for Pinto HP improvement and longevity, it is still reactive management. I'm no longer an SCCA member, so I have no dog in this discussion.