My son and I can verify just about everthing you guys have gone through. We swapped out the old 302 with a roller block. Flex plate issue with a 50 oz. balance? Been there, done that. Busted engine mount...yep, got creative. The oil pan, we welded in an acceletation baffle since I couldn't an aftermarket piece (I think fairmonts of that vintage use the same pan). We put some roush heads from a swap meet on it, e303 cam, one 650 dbl pumper (two looks cool though) the hedmans and tci's only MII converter. My son is a regular at sacramento with a best of 12.65 at 109 on street tires and mufflers. We are going to start taking out the unneccesary weight such as rear seats, and he's going to try some M&H dot drag tires to get more consistant traction. (Slapper bars on the 8" currently). One of the best things about this is the MII novelty. At "mustang madness" drags some of the younger kids don't know what it is. Oh yeah, we even have the same rims.