Yeah, my goat was a '66, and I did about everything you could do to a car on that thing. Luckily my dad owned a service station so I had free access to a lift and help from the mechanics there tolerating the dumb bosses kid. I still remember sitting in one of the bays scrubbing out my engine compartment because my motor was all in pieces as I rebuilt it.
I learned a lot back in those days. Like NEVER trust a parts department. Ever. I got oversized crank bearings sent to me by mistake and didn't know about making sure the crank would turn BEFORE putting everything all together again.
![EEK!](images/smilies/eek.gif)
Or how just because you can SEE the bolts for the headers doesn't mean you can ever get a tool in there to turn them. At least not more then 1/8th turn at a time. Or how when people say that 400 heads SHOULD work on a 389 pontiac, doesn't mean that they 100 percent will.
Not everything I learned is what I WISHED I had learned.......
As for the gears, yeah, it made quite a difference. In first gear it was difficult to NOT burn rubber. But I also remember that back in those days when gasoline was maybe 40 cents per gallon, I was spending $5.00 per DAY just getting back and forth to work. And work was not more then 10 miles or so away. I would NOT want that car back today at all because it would take me broke just driving it!
I am still astonished to be driving my Z06 down the road and seeing it registering 33 miles to the gallon.