451 and the Racetrack

If he is getting third gear, on line calculators show the combination should give you about 150 mph at that rpm with the tires and gears. Is the torque converter good? Something else is going on with the car in my opinion. There's something in the driveline that's not doing what it should. Transmission in good shape? Just throwing out thoughts. As I stated in my first post calculating with the numbers it really seems like no third gear. That's the first I would verify. I know you stated he said yes but it can't hurt to be sure before doing anything else.