They're tough little engines. They'll reliably hold 34psi stock, actually. I dislike repeating this story because people tend to repeat only the negative, conveniently leaving out all the facts. But, here goes (I'll be brief):
Last July, I participated, along side DHM, in a 3.5 day, 1/2 mile drag event in Michigan when it was still on the stock block. Please keep in mind that my built engine was already paid for, in full. Over the course of the days, I made 19-20 passes in 80? weather. We began on about 30psi, E30ish fuel and slowly turned it up throughout the event until we were pushing 36psi on MS109 fuel. We pushed the engine to see how much abuse it would take and ultimately it suffered catastrophic failure when cyl 3 lost compression. The ringland went, piston melted a bit, and warped the cylinder wall. Best guesstimate was 430-450whp. Outlasting and making power above DHMs own engine failure back in 2014 when he pushed his and more carnage too. Good data came of it, and since, DHM tuned/powered cars are even more reliable and powerful.
Anyway, you're probably now wondering why I don't have the car tuned for more power? Part of the failure was caused by uneven distribution of fuel which is the nature of the aux fuel kit. It becomes a hazard at high levels of power when you need that fuel to combat heat and keep cylinder AFRs balanced. There's a solution coming for that too. Additionally, on ethanol blends, we just don't have the in tank pump capacity to pump that much fuel.
All that to say that I agree; Ford built a great engine (sorry for those that got the bad eggs) and tuning strategy.
As to the experience of driving it: exhilarating doesn't begin to touch it. It's just a flat out adrenaline rush from doing something dangerously unnatural in what could best be described as a death trap. My car is a death trap, and I absolutely want it to be more dangerous.
Some Guy On The Internet