[JSchmitz]

Glad to hear your story take a positive turn! I can totally relate. I beat my car like a rented mule for decades with hardly any problems. I finally bought aluminum heads that I wanted forever. Then, a week before I was going to install the heads, my 15 year old'ish cam wiped a lobe. Tore it down to the block and cleaned it all out. Installed another cam and it wiped out a lobe on break-in. Tore it down to the block AGAIN and cleaned it. This time I installed a roller cam and associated springs and hardware. It ran like an animal!!! A short time later I found coolant in the oil. Had a big crack in #7 cylinder wall!!! I was so mad that I didn't even look at the car for months. That's why there's a 2000 Chevy 5.3 in my engine bay now. Did what I never thought I would do. But I was wore out. Next is an LS upgrade! Keep the Hot Rodding faith and good luck!