Thanks everybody. Lots of confirmations of what I already figured but didn't want to admit, lol.

I don't think I'm going to touch the shortblock now, especially if changing rod bolts without getting the rods resized is a bad idea. I'll just keep this motor together as is and start planning a new build, but in the meantime put a small plate kit on it to get me to where I'd like it to run. Think I'm going the Jeremiah and MoparBilly route of just y-ing the fuel solenoid off the main feed and tossing a regulator on the nitrous supply side.

Will start collecting parts for a 50x" stroker, and it seems like the Trick Flows are the way to go for heads at the 600-700 hp power level. Once they're available I'll pick up a set. Beyond that it sounds like stock blocks are suspect anyway.

The converter in the car is a 9.5" Ultimate. It flashes to ~4500 from what I've seen. The rear tires on it are just under 30" tall, to me it doesn't seem over-geared. I'm well under 6k crossing the finish line and I'm shifting a little over 6k. It sorta feels like it noses over past 6k regardless of gear. I have a 1" open spacer I want to try and also was going to go up and down with jetting the next time I get it to the track.

I do not know where the cam was installed, but I am guessing it was already advanced a couple degrees. I can ask the old owner.

I haven't considered tightening up the lash at all- can definitely experiment with that. I figured I'd just put it where the cam card suggested and run it, but will try tighter for sure.

I have put Wilwoods on the front of it already, I did that before Roadkill Nights. I can try to maybe swap the booster and vacuum pump + reservoir out for a manual brake setup but will need to find a manual brake C body to get the parts from. It has 2 layers of carpet in it, will pull one of those out along with the HVAC box. It doesn't have tailpipes. I'll have to start looking for brackets and things that can be removed or have holes drilled into, but also not be obvious about it.

Thanks,
Nick