Ok... Engine is REALLY being built now

So it really wasn't Sperry's fault that they couldn't build the engine yet...  I contacted Dart to make sure the order was in and to find out what the heck was going on with the cylinder heads.  They informed me that it was in fact their fault but didn't give me much more information.  I felt bad going around Sperry like that, but he wasn't giving me much choice.  Hearing the same statement every other week (regardless of whether or not it was exactly what he was told) really starts getting suspicious.  Honestly, he should have just called me weeks ago and suggested going to a different part.  Only after 9 weeks, 7 weeks on back order (yeah, he told me the order didn't go in until 2 weeks after I put the order in for the engine), did he suggest it?  Come on...

Anyway...  It's all resolved now.  He suggested going to an Edelbrock head that would be about the same price as the Dart SHP's we'd picked out.  The difference would be that the Edelbrock's would be 200cc instead of 180cc so the HP would be higher but also at a higher RPM (not very good for street cars).  When I had talked to Dart, I asked if it would be possible to switch to their Pro 1 line.  They actually said they had Pro 1 180cc heads in stock and they could easily make the change.  After discussing it with Sperry for a little bit (and doing some research on the internet before going out there), I decided to switch to the Pro 1's.

Now Pro 1's are more expensive (the wife was not happy with that) because it's a different type of aluminum that's harder to cast than the SHP.  From what I understand, the flow characteristics of the Pro 1's are much better than the SHP's.  When I originally put together my engine parts, the Pro 1's were actually the heads I'd chosen (based on a SBC building book I'd read).  So according to Dart, my Pro 1 cylinder heads just needed a little machining and they should ship out today.  They should be here early next week (Dart is based in Michigan).

As of last night, my bare block was ready to be built and my rotating assembly was being double checked for balance.  The short block should be complete today!