put the car on the ground, fill fuel, spare tire etc. take a short drive to settle front and rear suspension. I would shim fwd if my car looked like that after a short test drive.
my bad, my old trw flat tops are not. My pistons are .022-.025 above deck and I run a .060 thick composite gasket with closed chamber heads for many years.
If the 904 you have has the low gear set in it the 2.76 or 2.94gear 26" tire works great for a cruiser. I've run fast ramp SFT cams with EDM lifters for years with great longevity. The XE262 hydraulic had 2 lobes and lifters start to go flat in 6 months which is why I won't run a hyd any more...
I would run a SFT with EDM lifters. I've had great longevity and power with the Lunati Vodoo cams. You will also loose around .020-.025 lift at the valve with the SBM pushrod geometry from a cams listed lift.
Agree with this approach as a starting point. The motor running on your run stand is under NO LOAD. Once in the car fine tuning can be tweeked under real world conditions. Under hood temperature and drivetrain load changes will dictate how much ignition advance the motor will tolerate without...
Very close to my setup 11.90 on a good day. You need more gear to get a 340 to wind out. 4.56 28" tire worked the best for me. A 4.30 26" tire also works good. I ran 11.74 today with a 4.10 26" tire. I'm putting a 360 in my car shortly and put the 4.10 in for the new motor.