25 May 97 10:44, Hey Rocky! Wes Leatherock pulled Re: 396 outta his hat!:
 WL>
 -=>> Quoting Roy Witt to Jack Schwendener <=-
 WL>
 RW>> I owned one of those J2's, back about 1965...took it in as a
 RW>> partial trade for my 55 Del Ray.  Super 88, 4dr hardtop...hmmmm, oh
 RW>> yeah, traded that for a 58 Fairlane 500 with the first big block,
 RW>> 332 CI..
 WL>
 WL>          55 Del Ray, with two-tone paint applied by the dealer, was
 WL> one of the best, and best-looking cars, I've ever had.
Mine was painted Grey by the previous owner.  The interior was black and 
white.  In 63 a friend of mine 'found' a box car full of 327 engines. 
I bought one for $300 and it sure made up for lost time over the 265...
 WL>          Except for the fact it was the first year for Chevrolet to
 WL> have a V-8 engine, and there were still some bugs in it that they
 WL> kept working on (as warranty work).  Never did get all the squeal
 WL> out of the hydraulic lifters.
You should have heard the clatter when I installed a 30-30 Duntov cam and 
lifters...
 WL>          Since then I've been very leery of anything "state-of-the-
 WL> art".  I'd rather have tried-and-true.
After 45 years, tried and true could be brand new in terms of small block.
... Are you sure it isn't time for a colorful metaphor? Spock
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