Well your friends are idiots who cannot drive or have not maintained their car well, because there are plenty of them out there doing it. I run 13.80's all day long with a well maintained 302, gears, timing, and no intake silencer. Go to any track (like Gateway International in St. Louis) and you will find a ton of them running these times with similar setups.
Jerry 92 GT 5.0 5spd mostly stock 89 LX 5.0 auto (daily driver)