Re-torquing is not a bad idea - certainly won't hurt anything. My Fel-Pro buddies sold me on a "cold retorque" procedure when a regular retorque "after running" is not practical. Essentially you tighten the fasteners and leave the engine for a hour or two - then you loosen them and retighten. You always seem to get an extra couple degrees or rotation/tightness.
I have sent in an application for this year's challenge. The new rules would seem to favor smaller displacement (more efficient) engines - the Boss 302 will be hard to beat. Since I'm kinda stubborn, if accepted I'll build a 427. They want original style motors this time - so I'm thinking blue paint all over including valve covers, a dual plane intake, and cast iron manifolds
