Thanks to everyone for their replies. It has been many years since I have modified an engine and your replies have been very helpful.
At this point I am still infaturated with my new truck. It is in excellent condition for its age and I'm having a blast working on it and driving it. However, I got a dose of reality today.
I put in a new battery and things began to smoke. It seems some one replaced the battery cables, using black for positve and red for negative.