Where was I? Time is moving by faster than my updates that's for sure. I finally finished bolting everything back on the Belvedere two weeks before Mopars At The Strip. I fired it up Sunday morning March 10th, and she backfired, spit and coughed. I switched the front 2 plug wires around after a cursory examination, and tried again. Backfiring in the exhaust on one cylinder on the driver's side. I cursed my luck, If only I had taken that head to the shop while I had it off! Apparently one of the exhaust valves was bent or burnt. I was so angry at myself, I pulled it back down that very day. The machine shop called later in the week with bad news, "Those valve seats aren't hardened, and it's pretty hammered...I can repair this one, but the other one can't be much better".
I decided right then and there, the CNC Stealths and Cometic head gaskets were going to be pressed into duty on the 440. Thursday night, after work, I removed the other head, and prepared everything to get the heads on over the weekend, but HotRod was announcing the tracks for Drag Week 2013, and registration was to go live on Friday. I was nervous, very nervous, that it would fill up quick even though many of the veterans were downplaying the possibility of that happening.

I headed off to work Friday, March 15th with my mind definitely NOT on the duties at hand. HOT ROD was going to send all past participants a 6 hour head start E-mail for registration to begin, before they opened the floodgates to the un-washed masses. The fact that Bowling Green was the host track, and furthest east on the route had dampened my enthusiasm, but Boone said he was definitely taking the truck, so I figured I would at least take the Belvedere as his sidekick. So I told my son as I walked out the door, "Let me know when I get that E-mail, so I will know when the countdown starts"!