Restarting My '70 Nova Project

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The 396s were all actually 396 cu.in. displacement with a 4.094" bore until '70 when they bored them all .030" over, making them 402 cu.in.
The L78s were one of the few engines produced that would actually put out more than their advertised HP. The same exact engine that was rated 375 HP in Camaros, Novas and Chevelles was rated 425 HP in Corvettes. a few years ago I saw a video of an L78 engine dyno test, and it put out ~435 HP.
I had 4.56 gears in my Nova which helped get it into the mid 12s.

Back then, every auto manufacturer stated hp ratings at ridiculously lower rpm’s for lower hp numbers for insurance purposes. They didn’t lie about the numbers, they just took them at lower engine cycles. I mean a hemi rated at 425 hp at 5200 rpm’s…c’mon. A 428 Mustang rated at 335 hp…yeah sure.
Big differences occurred between a number gained at 4800 rpm’s vs 6200.