[blown 68]

well, i got the ol' girl down for about twelve passes tonight. the car is my dads original 1963 catalina post, that came back to roost with us after 30 years of being away. 389, trips, four speed w/ 3.90's out back. eight luggers with sh!tty tires. i have to admit, the 'seat of the pants' feel had me thinking it was quicker than it is. sooooo, my lame ass four speed shifting self got down to biz, the best i could muster for a 60' was 2.25. ouch. usually 2.3 or more. first run down, hit a 14.9, with 14.7 or 14.8 being typical. i removed the factory aircleaner lid and element,(god i LOVE that sound on those end carbs!) that was worth a tenth, with my best coming in at a 2.3 60', and a 14.65 @ 95 or 96mph. the cam is a pontiac spec 068 as well. the engine has never been apart, has 58,000 original miles on it, and feels strong. she was puffin' a bit, seems a little rich me thinks. maybe some jet changes in the outboards, and learning how to get out of the hole on those 70 series slugs,(or slicks better yet, duh,) and we can bring it down a bit. powershifting resulted in breaking the tires loose in every gear. by the fifth pass, my shifter wanted to hang up on me,in between gears. i started to miss my one two, and occasionally my three four. on the way home, you could feel it hang up in between gears, me thinks i need to replace all the bushings, and make sure everythings lined up and tight with the linkage. maybe check the stops too. it's hurst linkage by the way. i am a four speed newbie, so i have a little homework to do. i was beating on it pretty hard, got a blister to prove it! well, suggestions welcome, any and all, want to try and shave et's down a bit, without major funds, kinda broke right now. it felt REALLY good to bang some gears and get the stress out, with all this "rockstar supernova" stuff going on, but that's another thread...............
davey