Probably should have done this update sooner:) Last summer I installed a 300hp street SBC I had in the roadster while I worked on collecting parts for and finishing the race engine. Since I hadn’t made a pass in an altered in 40 years, it was a good way to start and it gave me the opportunity to find out what I didn’t like about how the car was set up and to fix it. Well, to make a long story short, the little engine worked so well that the engine is still in the car. At this point I’ve won enough money to pay for half of the little engine and had a good time doing it. However, the car is s-l-o-w and I need more speed, so I have one more race in a couple of weeks with the little engine and then I hope to put in the new 383 race engine.
In the fall of 1980 I sold my entire racing operation and used the proceeds to go to college (along with student loans) and became a high school shop teacher and special education teacher using the shop classes I taught as a behavioral change lab for students with behavior disorders. The last race I won before returning to the sport was in the summer on 1980 in my FED at my local track and I’m glad to say that after a 38 year wait I won S/P at the first race at the same track this year. How sweet it is! Thanks to everyone on this board for their input, suggestions, and encouragement in helping me get the car going. I’ll update when the new engine goes in. The pictures are of my current roadster and my deuce coupe altered from 1978. The doors on the 3-window were tack welded shut and you got in the coupe the same way you get in the roadster...you climbed in from the top:)