I used to see Dave at a zillion contests, one year at the New Englands he was a vascular and I meal a truly veiny SOB while weighing 315 pounds.
I think he said his heaviest weight was 318-lb, but I didn't know he was showing good vascularity at that weight.
The term "Palumboism" was coined after Dave for a reason, but one can also argue that he had pretty elite genetics - he just had some structural flaws that cost him, such as a slightly bigger waist, leathery skin [which was prominent in his last pro attempt], a physique that stopped "popping" as the years/contests went on [a symptom of the onset of Palumboism], and heavy competition for his era [before they started giving "IFBB Pro Cards" out like candy on Halloween 🎃], etc.
If Dave had been born 20 years later, he could have likely turned pro in another category. That said - maybe it saved him. As he has ran a successful bodybuilding website and coaching business instead.