Ace-Garageguy

The elevation changes and weather along the route are valid concerns, as you always tune a race carb for the specific atmospheric conditions at any given track, and EFI working correctly "self adjusts" for varying conditions. But the answer is "it depends". It depends on several factors, like how high is the highest mountain pass a contestant would have to navigate, and what is the specific weather forecast along the route. Although EFI would unquestionably give the most exact fuel/air ratio for any combination of air density and temperature, I've driven carbureted vehicles cross-country many times (granted, not at racing speeds), and I've never had to stop to tune a single engine. If I were running the Cannonball, I'd probably prefer the side-of-the-road repairability of carbs. If EFI quits, you're pretty much done, and you can't win if you can't finish the event. Then again, carrying spares like injectors, sensors, and an ECM pre-calibrated to the specific engine setup and configured to swap quickly could solve that potential problem quite nicely. It all really comes down to personal taste and the contestant's temperament.

Progressing nicely...

Camshaft and lifter failures were a fairly common problem when the new generation of OHV V8 engines hit the American market in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Both American camshaft metallurgy and lubrication technology advanced rapidly, to the point where it became a non-issue. ZDDP is a zinc-based additive specifically developed to combat rapid wear between highly-loaded sliding surfaces like are found between 'flat' cam followers (tappets) and cam lobes. ZDDP has been phased out of consumer motor oils because of its adverse effects on catalytic converters, and that is one of the reasons every engine manufacturer and his dog went to roller followers some time ago. ZDDP-containing additives are available specifically for older flat-tappet non-cat-equipped engines, and "high zinc" break-in products are available for new builds. Sadly however, even when aftermarket cam manufacturer's break-in instructions are followed to the letter, using the most magic of the additives, lobe and lifter failures still occur, mostly during break-in, as you mention. The odd part is that it's generally not ALL the cam lobes or lifters that go...indicating sporadic deficiencies in the metallurgy or surface treatment along the length of offshore-produced cam blanks, or that not all of the lifters in a given set were made and finished to spec. It would seem that some engineering problems that were solved 70 years ago are beyond some of today's capabilities.

Carbs and linkage in good condition that are properly set up in the first place should be able to make it across the country flat out with no problem. The race-winning car at the 1966 LeMans 24 hour race, for instance, covered over 3000 miles at an average speed of over 125 MPH.

"Kits" aren't always a bunch of parts to build something, but can be (what I thought were stupidly-named when I was a kid) things like the "information kits" insurance companies are always trying to get you to contact them for.

"Away with their heads...or head 'em off at the pass...or pass the peas, please...or please and thank you..." said the Wicked Queen of Confusion.

You should always thoroughly cook road-kill even if it looks like pizza.

Bet the farm only if it's really really really a sure thing...really really.

"Gone fishing and might never come back so don't wait around" is a sign I'd like to hang on my last two customer jobs, but they'd probably stop paying.

Tomorrow is usually the day when I put off to the next day everything I didn't get done yesterday.

Saying rosin instead of resin can make you seem like a total idiot.

Dies are used for various forms of metal shaping, like stamping and casting.

Model railroaders have used various products and home-brews over the years for metal-blackening/tarnishing too...so there's another rabbit hole to search down. EDIT: I just remembered Rub 'n Buff has a color called "patina" that can be very effective creating weathered brass and copper finishes...

100% in agreement...and you can fix 'em by the side of the road. If your EFI quits, you're going home in the cab of a wrecker. Though I've done a fair number of EFI builds to date, for my own '32, I'm going with a 3X2 carb setup on an old-school SBC double-humper 327...only concession to modernity being roller cam followers because there have been so many somewhat unexplained flat-tappet and cam failures recently....and though I already have the necessary Rochester 2Gs, I'd really like to find an NOS Barry Grant/Demon "Six-Shooter" setup just for the looks. Lotta guys don't like 'em, but as far as my experience goes, they're basically just Holley semi-clones, and work every bit as well.

"Parlor cars" aren't often seen on American railroads anymore, other than high-end tourist trains.