Here is a summary of what I've been told by this builder/tuner:
- the 110 is a different animal than the 96 or 103, and doing the usual standard performance mod's won't work the same on the 110 (ie- throwing in bigger cams) (which I think has been shown here many times- I've read of many dissapointments from guys who have put in cams alone, only to find the only thing it accomplished was move the torque curve to the right and raise peak numbers)
- the exhaust flow needs to be 80% of the intake flow for optimum performance
- re-degree the cam to 4 degrees retarded (I know what lift and duration is, but I don't know what this means or what it accomplishes)
- .030 head gaskets
- inspect valve guides and port heads and put on a flow bench, radius valves
- re-use stock pushrods
- "massage" throttle body and exhaust ports
- check crank runout
- re-ring and bead blast pistons, re-hone cylinders
I'm running a Fullsac b headpipe and 4" Rineharts, so I don't need any cat removal.
I mentioned the issues I've read here about, specifically cam bearings and lifters. He said no problem if I wanted to replace them, but of the 110's he's had apart, he hasn't seen any issues with them. Keep in mind he's old school, so he doesn't spend hours surfing these forums reading up on other peoples issues- he is just stating what he has seen.
The issue he has seen, and on 110's with lower miles than mine, is the poor sealing piston rings, and the enevitable carbon build up on the pistons and in the chambers. He says due to the oil and the high heat of a stock motor, all these engines will allow some oil past the rings and into the chamber. Believe it or not, he said he recommends people who have had his 110 package done to just run a quality dino oil over synthetic, as the modified engine will be breathing properly, and won't run so excessively hot (which he thinks is why HD even recommends synthetic in the 110's- because they knew hot excessively hot they would run).
Also, I remember the one thing he said the HD tuner does that the TTS doesn't- have the ability to tune each cylinder individually.
Finally, he won't be "throwing it on the dyno and make a few minor adjustments"- the package includes a custom dyno tune.
Again I'll ask about the dyno chart- that is the end result, and I'd say the curves and the numbers look as good as anyones.
I'd love to hear from builders like Hillside and Dewey's heads to see what they think of all this.