Valve covers done 
 
 

Here's where I ended up today

Burning the night oil tonight, after all the work I did, I CCd the chambers one more time, 5= 72, 2=73, 1=74 it's going together for the last time, new push rods solved the clearance problems, piston to valve good, valve to block good, now for the bracket making, front motor plate, alternator bracket, fuel pump bracket, water pump cover, valley pan, rear motor plate, adapter Ford to powerglide, mount starter (?) and clean up the mess.  

Sleeves added to second head

Back working, cleaned the valve covers, bead blasted them, I cut the rails out of them and found a lot of crap, so look good at your parts, a lot of dirt was under those rails 

A little more, I bought 5/16 push rods, no more clearance problems, these are 8.500 long (.070 longer) longer) 

I forgot to mention that I rolled the inner edge of the wheel opening so there was no sharp edge in case the tire sidewall touched it.  I did all that to try to stay even with the Camaros in my class.  With their radiused wheel openings, all they had to do was raise the rear slightly to get 10 inch tires on.  8 inch was about all I could get in my stock wheel wells.  All was equal when NHRA had their 7 inch tire rule, but when things changed to "any size tire that fit within the wheel well", I was at a disadvantage (temporarily).  Also, the spring shift amounted to moving the perches on the axle in about 1/2 inch and crowding the springs inboard there and on their shackle bushings.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Love the story, John. The way racing was done in the day.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

JOHN ! ! !  Has the statute of limitations expired on what you have shared with us OR will somebody be contacting you to repossess some of your trophies?

E-mail writings can be misleading.  Know that I've been sitting here laughing after reading what you shared before I made the time to write back.  I love this Internet Forum because of the great individuals who so generously share their expertise, knowledge, experiences, creativity, ingenuity, and hard-knocks with others.

Best Wishes, always! 
Charlie Brown


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Thanks John, I will pass this on to my son.