I've ridden in and driven Tom's car. I think Tom's car pulls harder with the turbo. I bet I would beat him off the line and give a decent run at 1/8 mile but I'm sure the turbo would win at 1/4 mile.
He told me chassis dyno showed 250 horse at the Elco wheels. My goal was 250 horse at the crank. I'm probably short of that number but not by a lot. A little more cam (comp 252 hydraulic), a little more carb (Rochester 2 barrel), and a little more gear (3.08 posi) would improve 1/4 mile time. It runs so well as it is today I'm in no hurry to change it. I have some brake and suspension work that is more urgent. Cut a coil off the big block springs first!
Nothing broken yet. Oil had typical metallic look of first oil change, nothing alarming. I've spun it up to 5500 or so (still pulling at 5500) repeatedly while driving it hard. Kind of hard to tell exactly since the factory Nova tach is tiny and calibrated for v8. I will pull the head for a look and better head gasket. It is a cheapo rebuilder gasket now. I'll swap to a nicer print-o-seal gasket. Pistons rattle a bit when cold but nice and quiet when warm. Runs well on 87 octane, no ethanol.
