1968 Meteor survivor

My plan for now is just to get this car back on the road and drive it. It may get some upgrades along the way but first things first is just running and driving safely. I am trying hard not to let it creep out of control but I am taking the time to at least clean and spiff up anything that I am already touching. To that end, here is my progress.

 

Carb was full of mouse house. Completely frozen. Took some soaking, heat and persuasion to get it free but seems OK now.

 

"Ran when parked" is what I was told. Somehow, I doubt that.

 

Bought a cap and rotor, points and condensor. Broke the ground screw off and also realized the vacuum advance was bad. Bought a new distributor. Lol. I'll try rebuilding the original some day

 

If you haven't already removed the old dizzy, spray copious amounts of penetrating oil around the base. It's a common problem, that while sitting, the aluminum and cast iron go through dissimilar metals corrosion. It's why an engine needs to be fired on a regular basis and shifted through the gear positions.

 

And I should ask, do you know how to set and adjust points, before setting timing?

 

Yup, I'm good with setting points and timing. Distributor came out without issue, I was easing the ground screw out just to clean everything up, almost had it but it snapped off. Should be able to save it though. The vacuum advance is shot and I want to get this thing running so I picked up a whole new distributor to use for now. I have never pulled one all the way apart to mess with the weights and springs so I can do that down the road. I already have most of the new parts now. Lol

 

The mechanical advance should be pre-curved to factory specs. Other than that, I'll leave that all to you then. Not many know how to do it, so since I do, I can walk them through it.

 

The new distributor is imported, I have no clue how accurate it will be out of the box. I have never messed with the mechanical advance other than to know it exists and that a fella can adjust springs and weights. If you have insight I would be crazy to not learn what you can teach me. I have installed and set points, condensor, etc. Normal tune up stuff. I have no official training, just what I learned from a friend's father who was an old school mechanic and let us fart around in his shop growing up. Combine my limited knowledge with my can do attitude and the internet and I can sort most things out.

The factory distributor is a mess so I am hoping this one will get me by till I can properly go through the stock one.

 

Yeah, sitting just ruins everything. I remember having to replace the dizzy in my '74 Squire, because the breaker plate was all worn. I should've also done the timing set at that time because the nylon finally stripped off the cam gear, stranding me on a workday.

 

Removed the fuel tank. Access panel in wheel well.

 

Sending unit is a mess and nobody makes a replacement. NOS impossible to find. Working on a solution...

 

Trying a science experiment to clean the tank. Seems to be working well. Going to try it a few times with new anodes and rotating the tank to soak all the nooks and crannies.

 

I’ve seen a lot of metal detector guys doing this with their finds, but never thought to do it to a gas tank. That’s rad! Anyone have any tank lining tips or favorite brands?

 

Doesn't POR-15 make an in-tank kit?