You need to stop at Team and see him. He's got some decent inexpensive stuff you'd have no problem repairing. Jim and I have done a lot of flying together. We're both airplane people. Benchracing is a lot like hangarflying. And he's still got a whole bunch of Cavalier stuff.

Getting awfully far from the topic here but does he still concentrate on compacts? I fix mostly Jeep Cherokees. They are pretty straight forward vehicle to work on and there is a good supply of parts available.

Yeah, he stays with the Taurus/Sable, Cavalier/Sunbird, Grand Am-type stuff. You might want to stop and talk to him about the Jeep stuff though. He can review what's coming up for bids online.
Occasionally Waterfoul, DonziMitch, Mr. Gadgets and I stop at the American Legion in Holland for a pop. You interested in doing it sometime? Mike usually coordinates it.

Crazy, burgers one night this week would be great! Don't care much for brats though.

Yup, great midrange torque from the F-M cam. Saved my ass once this summer. Power when you HAVE to have it is a good thing.

Sounds good to me. If your ever working on engines other than a Tuesday or Thursday give me a shout. Back to the motor, I would like to be able to run 87 octane in my boat which makes raising compression a problem. I currently in and out at the Wharf in Grand Haven and gas there is outrageous, I go over to Herm's in Spring Lake and pay about 10 cents over street pump price. Problem is he only has 87. You say you like the rec. port heads in stock configuration. Do you mean no porting or anything? Just a good valve job?

Herm used to have mid grade. Not any more???

Last summer first without, said people told him they didn't need it, would rather have it cheaper. Darned cruisers! Sorry Crazyhorse.

Hey Mike, do you still work at JCI? My wife used to work there. Probably saved my marriage when they canned her. She's a different person now.

Jeez, Herm must be about a thousand years old by now. Old as dirt. You could probably go 9:1 on 87, marbe a little more depending on the piston dome shape/combustion chamber configuration. Yeah, I always have liked the Chevy heads. They have an annoying habit of cracking, but that's why you have them magnafluxed. I don't doubt for a minute that JimV can get more horsepower from them but I think your money would be better spent on Merlins or Dart heads when you can afford to shell out the money. What do you have in mind for the rebuild? Got roller rockers yet? Super V spent a touch over 1100 bucks on parts for two motors, which included everything. Even included the brass freeze plugs.

I hate to admit it, but I ran it low on oil late last year. Very concerned that I damaged bearings. Definitely do not want to blow up in the middle of the summer or sell someone a piece of crap. I was well into the research of a stroker 496 when it occurred to me that a 12 year old $15,000 boat with an extra $4,000 stuck into an engine rebuild was still a 12 year old $15,000 boat. I've decided to take it apart, do the necessary machine work and put it back together. Nothing fancy, new bearings, cam, pistons, rings, maybe arp rod bolts. Try to optimize everything I can w/out major expense. After it's back together, I'll enjoy it for what it is (hopefully a little faster).