You nailed it on the cost of all that "fluff" costing more than a V8 swap.....way more!!!! So why would anybody spend that much coin on trying to squeeze out a little more HP from a 4 main 235?
One that was designed for work on roads that in the 50's, were sub-standard by today's standards? The answer is that it just got out of control. One thing led to another......
I've had plenty of "Go-Fasts".....so I planned the old Chevy as a cruiser with gearing being the main concern and the rest just feel into place. In reality, adding 20 HP to a torque engine in my estimation, is a pure waste of time and money if you don't have time and money to waste!! I just wanted a setup that was totally dependable and that could keep up with traffic on the open road. A stock 216-235 with the right gearing would get the job done. The 230-250's were a major step up with 7 mains and a more sophisticated suspension.
As for the carb setup....I wanted the engine to fire instantly, to accelerate without hesitation, and to loose the constant leaking from a poorly designed (by today's standards) carb. The Carter/Webers perform flawlessly. The carb heat is simple, it works quickly, and doesn't require a lot of plumbing or welding on the intake manifold and there is no potential for overheating in the event of a coolant leak. Langdon prefers water heat (?) and we've discussed the merits of both...and I use his heat plate but that's the beauty of it all....choices!!!
It looks like you've got "happiness" pretty well figured out....add to that, tinkering with old Iron and you've got my life pretty well figured out!
Dave
