I left one detail out - the female friend I was with was also hysterical... with fright!
I had been driving it slowly like a boat that evening - again, the idea was to keep an eye on temp and pressures...
But when the challenge came along and I got on the gas... it planted her, completely unsuspecting, in the bench seat... V8 screaming in second then third + blower howling... Tires coming loose and needing correction... Roooooaaaarrrr!!!! Then, down the road, the loud blow-off venting as I got off the gas... her fingernails were wrenched into the dash.
She had NO clue how fast this thing was.
Heheheheheh