The car had been in his garage since 1978. Discussing the reason for the car being parked for so long the PO said it was because the exhaust manifold was cracked, he has difficulty trying to repair it, lost interest, and forgot about it. He "found" it a few weeks before I bought it because the garage needed a new door and it needed to cleared out before it could be done.
Body is rust free and other than a few minor dings pretty solid. Car is complete but was in desperate need of TLC. The suspension looked adequate for now so we decided to focus on making it run and stop. Upon further investigation noticed that the wire harness was in need of replacing. Replaced the engine and dash harness then the real work started. Ran compression and the engine is ~135 on all four cylinders and the valve adjustments where all within spec .
So far here is where we stand:
Gas tank cleaned and sealed. Fuel pickup was clogged solid...had to root it out with a piece of steel cable connected to my drill.
Completely rebuilt the SU's and replace the throttle bodies. Non-smog needles.
New choke cables.
Fished out the old exhaust manifold...what a PITA!...and put a new header on.
New Intake/Exhaust gasket and new nuts and washers.
Removed the smog pump assembly and plugged the head with inserts.
EI dizzy and all new tune up parts.
Spal low profile electric fan.
Moved alternator to passenger side and replaced with GM CS130 IR alt
New radiator hoses.
New thermostat.
New dizzy drive oil hose.
New valve cover gasket and grommets.
New Brake MC and Clutch MC.
New Clutch Slave.
New brake hoses - front and rear.
Rebuilt front calipers.
New front wheel bearings and seals.
New rear wheel cylinders.
New pads and shoes.
New tires and wheels.
New longer wheel studs.
I have done a litany of small repairs to various items. Only thing left is to adjust and sync the carbs, which are giving me fits. Hopefuly I can sort it out soon and go for a cruise.
After the shake down cruise we'll evaluate what is next. Most likely suspension and steering.
