Odds 'n Ends

Not much happening with the car build recently, as our house in East Texas has been eating up my attention again. We're hoping to have it sold in early July, if the buyer can sell their house by that time. Building a workbench and storage cart for my wife’s art work also received a higher priority than playing with my car.

What began as a verification of all the things left to accomplish before the dash is installed has turned into re-inspecting all the major jobs for little things that I might have missed or need cleanup or adjustment. Needless to say, I found and fixed a few.

Two block drain plugs were too close to the motor mount brackets, so I replaced the square male-wrenching variety with a much lower profile hex-drive plug and there is plenty of room now.

When I installed 2-1/8” dual exhaust pipes in place of the smaller single pipe, I created an interference issue with the transmission kick-down linkage. Instead of pounding a dent in the pipe to clear, I’ve decided to use a cable kick-down. It’s pricy, but it will save having to design and fabricate a custom bracket to fit the aftermarket intake.

The brake hose from the banjo fitting on the axle to the frame bracket is very near taut when the shocks are at full extension, so I’m going to locate a longer hose to be sure it won’t be damaged when the suspension rebounds.

I don’t like the brake distribution block setup with the front disc conversion, so I’m going to order a new distribution block from an earlier disc-drum car. It will make a much cleaner looking installation than the more complicated ’79 version I was going to use.

I’ve also decided to change some wire routing to eliminate several of the bulkhead connector wires. I had been using the truck diagram for a pattern, but better use of the console fuse bus will improve both looks and function. I will also upgrade wire sizes and provide additional circuits the truck should have had.

I ordered and received the new fuse/relay block that will be located in the engine bay. I’ll wait to install it when I get the brake distribution block as they will be located in the same general area and I don’t want any interference with the brake line stress loops.

Taking the wife to the airport today. She’s spending nearly a month with family in Nevada, so I should have more time to work on the car.