My son started up the 78 Elk today. He stomped on the throttle and it ran great, with no hesitation. My son built this engine in highschool and put it in his 73 El Camino. Then he bought the 78 Elk and put the engine in it. He told me that it is running great. He looked pleased with the way it was running. This was awesome to me that he was impressed how good it was performing.