Ok, time to update this. New intake, carb, and an air cleaner that will actuall flow air, were finally installed late Spring of 2020, I spent a good portion of my COVID lock down polishing the intake, and porting and polishing the intake runners. It's not perfect, but it looks a lot better than the cast finish. While swapping the intake and tuning the carb, we found out the vacuum advance was also not working, and was able to diagnose a fueling issue that was still persistent even after the carb swap. Diagnosis is the stock 5/16" fuel lines are insufficient to keep the motor fed. So I have all new 3/8' NiCo fuel lines, nylon braided hoses, AN fittings, and an electric fuel pump going in(also as a half step twords EFI later down the road). Another issue I found tunning the car is the factory valve covers my Dad was adamant about keeping, and the aluminum spacers he was using so they would clear the roller rockers. The spacers required two gaskets(head/gasket/spacer/gasket/valve cover), double the gaskets, double the oil leaks. Every once and a while we were tuning the engine I'd see a puff of smoke coming from the headers with the smell of burning oil, figured it was oil dripping on the headers, then I was possitioned to actually see it happen AND the resulting FIRE BALL. New high clearance valve covers were ordered.
Then all work came to a screeching halt from June 2020 until my Dad passed away last Aug. Long story, but the car is finally in my posession and safe with me and my sister. It sucks not having him around, but I like to think he's hanging around whenever I work on the car. He might not like everthing I've done, but I'm a firm believer there is more to a car than just looking pretty at a car show, it needs to work well when you want to drive it too.
So since I've taken possession, the new valve covers have been installed(still considering painting the cast parts between the aluminum fins either white or Seamist Auqua, to both tie them into the rest of the car, and make detailing them easier).... and had to have the hydroboost rebuilt due to an error on my part trying to move it out of the way to get to the drivers side valve cover.
Then the steering column stated having issues, where the "gate" that you have to go through from P-R-N-D was moving around inside the column. I attempted to figure it out, but was a point I decided it wasn't worth digging deeper since ultimately I wanted to swap a tilt column and convert to floor shifter, like a true SS should be. I decided to go with Lokar, prefered a case mount but I really didn't want to have to drop the transmission and then figure out how to locate the hole to cut for the shifter, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to getthe offset to the drivers side like the factory 4 speed, so I tied to cut a corner and go with my second choice, a floor shift kit. Lesson learned... don't cut corners. After lots of swearing, some cutting and grinding that really didn't get me as close as I wanted, and lots of procrastination, I had to suck it up and switch to the case mount shifter. The floor mount assembly is just too tall an too wide to install cleanly with the SS shift bezel, even after cutting the floor to mount it on the underside of the pan. The pivot point is just too wide to sit that high and use the SS bezel. Now I still don't think I like the fitment with the SS bezel and the case mount shifter, since the shifter is now centered on the tunel, but I think I will be able to live with myself if I don't use the bezel. Besides, most people who look at it probably won't catch it at first glance, if at all. Ultimatly I just want it to look like it could have came that way from the factory, even though it didn't.
On to the current project. While pulling carpet up(which I need to replace now since I've already cut a hole on the side of the transmission tunnel for the floor mount shifter), and removing the fiber based sound/heat insulation my dad used 17 years ago, so I could weld in the transmission tunnel patch panel and POR15 it, I found that water has been leaking in and getting under the insulation. The drivers side had some sort of rust inhibitor coating that, while it has kept the floor from rusting, has been peeling up. I'm not sure what he used, but it has kinda a rubbery/latex feel to it. I remember him using the suff, looked like thinned Elmers glue when it came out of the bottle, but would turn a very dark blue/purple, we had used something similar in the Navy. The passenger side hadn't been treated and had a decent bit of surface rust, from either the windsheild leaking, and/or the short time that the evap drain on the HVAC box had broke off and was draining into the interior. So right now the front floor pans, transmission tunel, and firewall are getting POR-15 Rust Preventive Coating and POR-15 Red Oxide top coat, and Dynomat sound deadener. I'll tackle the rear floor pans when I get the new carpet since the back seat has to come out to remove it, then finally I'll tackle the trunk. I just hit the floor pans and tunnel with the Rust Preventive Coating last night, and decided too late that I was going to go ahead and do the firewall too while I was there(no half measures). So I hope to have the firewall POR-15'd and Red Oxide painted tonight, and then hopfully have the Dynomat done by Sunday.
I have to patch a half dollar sized hole in the exhaust coming off the drivers side header, right behind the wheel, where the dummy drag pipes Dad had welded onto the exhaust finally broke off after taking repeated hits while on the Power Tour(like I mentioned above, we lost the passenger side while on the tour which I reluctantly welded back on once we got home, a bit too well looking back now), so I can get it back up to the shop and get it on the 4 post lift to replace both pipes and delete the drag pipes. I know Dad really liked having them, but they are causing more headaches than they are worth, especialy being non-funtional, to keep them. The updates to the fuel system will be taken care of the same time.