.40 over 170 rebuild

What rear gears are in the car? I ask because performance upgrades will inevitably decrease torque and driveability. Make the motor too peaky and you'll need some tall gears just to be able to drive around.

First thing is to verify the block is square, don't trust what you don't know, check all tolerances etc.

IMHO milling the head is probably a waste of time and effort. You might just have to deal with what comp ratio you get.

That being said it was free so maybe offset milling the rod journals would be good practice for you and put your pistons further up in the hole.

Talk to the good people at Oregon cam grinders about what grind would motivate the car best. You'll need to have the motor back together and know your compression. Also by that time you'll need to decide how street able you want it and decide on a rearend ratio to suit that driving style.

Also since you'll wind up down the spiral anyway, plan and collect parts for a 4-speed O.D. Swap.:burnout: And put it in the floor where it belongs!

Intake and exhaust sounds fine so far. Just don't get too big of a carb. I had a 500 cfm Holley two barrel on a 225 that was built to the gills, you should prob go for a 600 or smaller four barrel.. Yes I know that is a very short list of available carbs once you start looking.

Good luck and have fun! Remember all the changes you make will affect the rest of the car so be sure to invest in brake upgrades as well. :cheers: