external oil pick up

A friend bought a used bracket 440 off a fellow for $1,500. It had a large solid in it, and the guys shift point was 6,800 Rpms. It had been bracket raced for 4 years, and had been in a Roadrunner with a 6-71 blower for years before that. (13 years old when my friend got it. When I pulled it down to freshen it, I almost left the bearings in it, they looked fine. 1/2" pickup, HV pump, plain old deep Milodon pan. You'll have a nice setup when done, but I bet it would have been fine as is.