Thanks guys, I'm really looking forward to putting this one back on the road in better working order than when I started.
To answer a few questions:
-I have no idea if it will do a wheelie. It has around 390hp/475tq, so the potential is there, but the old carb limited it heavily. Now there is nothing holding it back, so we'll see.
-I was going to paint it gold, but then realized red shows off chrome better, plus it seems to me the high performance Olds stuff was always red as well. I could be wrong on this one, as I'm not much of an Olds guy, but I've seen Olds engines in red, gold, and light blue metallic (this engine was originally the light blue).
-Yes, I do work like a maniac
. I want to drive this unit this summer as much as possible, so I've been going as late as possible to get it on the road. It will be flat black this year with steelies and a bare interior, but it will be on the road. The chassis will be flat black as well, again just for this year. Still have not decided on a final color.
-I will take it out on the highway and punch it and see if the front end does anything it shouldn't. If it does I'll get a wheelie bar. I'm hoping I don't have to, as it makes it look that much less like a street vehicle. The entire drivetrain is out of a front wheel drive 1969 Olds Toronado, including the TH425 transaxle. The engine runs into the torque converter, then into that large chaincase you see at the back. It then spins a TH400 style transmission on the drivers side that runs backwards into an independent suspension differential setup. Because it is the front end of a car, it has 4 wheel independent suspension and 4 wheel disc, and that is also why the motor is basically centered over the rear wheels.
-The exhaust is only 7ft long per side, so I figured a crossover pipe wouldn't be that necessary, as it's pretty well straight through with minimal restriction, plus fitting an X or an H pipe would be tough in this setup. I really like the look it gives right now with the parallel glasspacks.