The New Vintage gauges I bought for the Bird have had significant challenges, things not covered in the installation manual. I'm helping them revamp the install manual. The gauges do look great in the dash (unmounted as of yet, but should be dialed in around mid February).
I had to ditch the SMI 800 cfm Stage II Q-jet from SMI. It ran great at sea level in So Cal, but it got a serious aversion to 5500 ft elevation. Put in two different sets of jets and rods, nothing made it idle. I'm guessing it's something simple I can't figure out, but I went with a Holley 4160 750 cfm dual fuel feed with vacuum secondaries, and now it's stable...go figure. I'll put it up for sale with all the rest of my stock parts I replaced soon. The engine looks pretty tight with the new KRE heads, Performer intake, Holley and Ram Air manifolds along with the new AC compressor.
I'm sure the Wilwood front discs with the new Power Stop Z26 rear drum brakes will help it stop. All I need is the NV gauges fitted (wiring is already done), and get it tuned for 5500 ft elevation and I should be ready to rock.
Updates as they happen in the 2nd week of February.