jt1

That is a 100% knockoff of the Design Products Racing rear brake. It isn't much higher from DP, they designed it, they've been selling it for years, and they are great people to do business with. Plus you get a new caliper, not reman, from DP, and a choice of pad compound. jt

Spraying the radiator can help diagnose the problem by isolating where the heat transfer is lacking. If the system is running at 230 and you spray the radiator, then the radiator cools down but the motor doesn't, it's an excellent indication you have a coolant circulation problem. I was helping a buddy with a overheating problem on a dirt car, which would peg the needle after a few laps. He had bought a used radiator, and the guy he bought it from threw it in a box, covered it with foam peanuts, and shipped it. Some of the peanuts got in the inlet side of the radiator and just about stopped it completely up. We would spray down the radiator and it would quickly come down to 150 or so, but the motor stayed hot, so obviously there was a coolant circulation problem. Spraying the radiator can also show a airflow problem if the whole system cools when the radiator is sprayed. Braap stated it very well earlier in this thread: So, there is definitely a benefit to spraying the radiator, if the results are properly interpreted. jt

The "mind of it's own" part makes me wonder if it still has some air in it. It's best if you have some means to bleed the air at the highest point of the system, usually the thermostat housing. Do you have a spring in the lower radiator hose? Sometimes it can collapse at higher rpm. jt

It's hard to say. Sometimes when a master is dry, it's a real PITA to get the air out. All the brake bleeding threads you see are a testament to that, and I've been thru it myself. I would make several attempts at bleeding it, and bleed the master first each time, before I gave up on it. A pressure bleeder works best. It's easy to fab one up if you have an old master cap. Just silicone or JB weld a fitting into the cap. jt

Very nice work on the struts, they look great. I like the wheels, too. jt

So...... you don't even know if it's got any gas in the tank????????

It depends. You want to use just enough pressure to push air thru the hose back into the tank. The canned air may work, or you can just blow on it if you don't have a compressor. If you can hear the air bubble in the tank you're doing what you want. Do not use the paintball tank. Way too much. jt

At the fuel pump, disconnect the line coming from the tank to the fuel pump, and blow air from thru the hose back to the tank. Use low pressure, like 10 psi or so, and take the cap off the tank first so it can vent. Put a reusable filter between the pump and carb so you can see how much trash you're getting. jt

The two that are close together, just to the right of the sending unit, are the pickup and return lines. Blow out the larger of these two. The others are vents. The easiest thing to do is blow it out from the fuel pump back. jt

Sounds like the box to me. I've never seen a coil quit and then start right back. A box, yes. jt

570, did you ever get any gas coming out of the pump squirters? If yes, pull a plug, put it back on the wire, lay it on the engine where it gets a good ground, make sure there's no gas around, and spin the motor over. It's best if you do this at night or in the garage with the doors shut and lights off. If you get a bluish white spark at the plug, you're OK; if you get a redish orange spark, you might have a weak coil. If you've got gas at the squirters and a blue spark, check the distributor timing. Checking the damper to make sure the TDC mark is right is another possibility. jt

Looks like you're off to a good start, that's a nice car. I would be wary of used valve springs. They're a wear item, just like tires or brake pads. Be sure you have them checked for seat pressure and pressure at max lift, and be sure they meet your cam specs. jt

Wonder what the scale of that thing is? 10' diameter flywheel maybe? jt

You might try drilling a couple of 1/8" holes in the thermostat flange to help get the air out of the engine. Sometimes that can make a difference. jt

Well, make sure it's getting gas and go from there. Always keep a fire extinguisher and a old heavy towel or rag around when you're doing this kind of stuff. If it backfires thru the carb and catches on fire, smother it out with the towel quickly, and keep the extingusher handy if that doesn't do it. Watch for any fuel leaks, that's usually when you have a bad fire. jt

If you can work the throttle and don't see gas come out of the pump nozzles, you likely don't have gas in the carb bowls. You need to find out why and fix it. Fuel pump and filter would be the first place to check, second is a stuck float or stopped up needle & seat. Some carbs have a strainer right where the fuel line hooks to the carb. You also need to check the distributor. I would make sure it was getting gas first, but I assure you the dist. can be put in wrong. jt

What kind of carb? When you work the throttle linkage, can you see gas squirt out of the accelerator pump nozzles? Double check the distributor. It's easy to get one in 180deg off. jt

Sounds like a pretty major project. If the fiberglass and body work is poor you can spend a lot of time and money getting it nice. I look around some and see what was was available and at what price. It comes down to how much time and money your willing to put in it. I used to own a 68 roadster with a L79, and it was a two bolt. I guess it's possible GM may have used some 4 bolts late in the production run, but I never heard of one back when I used to follow the C3 vettes pretty closely. John

Pretty nice looking car. If the rest of it is that nice, $8500 isn't out of the question. That style front end is a "G nose", which is pretty desirable to a lot of folks. Pay attention to the trans tunnel. Depending on which motor mounts it has, sometimes you have to cut on the tunnel a good bit to get clearance for the sidemount shifter the muncies use. Be sure you put the car on a lift or jackstands and give the underside a good, good inspection. This is a must. jt

The muncie "rockcrusher" with the straight cut gears was the M-22, not the M-21. It would have to be a pretty nice car to be worth $8500 IMO. 68 327's were two bolt mains. GM didn't start making 4 bolt blocks till 69. Any pics? jt

Gary, do you have any pics of the car at speed? It seems the rubber would make the car more stable, but unless it's reinforced and braced really well, it may be deflecting and letting air under the car. At speed pics may give you an idea if the rubber is doing it's job or deflecting. I know from my experience at 150'ish mph the front air dam has to be pretty strong, and you are exponentially beyond that. Congratulations on a nice job. Your should be proud of your accomplishments, and don't let monday morning quarterbacks bug you. John

Welcome to HybridZ. Buying any Z, the first thing is the condition of the chassis. Most of them have some rust, or have some rust repair. Make sure you can fix any rusty areas to your satisfaction, or the existing repairs are up to your standards. Doing stuff over is always expensive. Common areas to look are the battery box area, the floorboards, the doglegs in front of the rear wheels, and the area around the rear of the hatch. Take a magnet to look for bondo or fiberglass. Looks like some nice parts. If it's a true 10.5 : 1 with iron heads, it's gonna be borderline to run on pump gas. You may have to mix in some race gas to keep it from detonating. That's OK if it's a track only car, but aggravating and expensive for a street car. It would be pretty optimistic for double hump iron heads to make 475 hp unless they've had some porting work. However, with some porting it's quite possible. With a non overdrive transmission, you turn a lot of rpm at highway speed. 3:54 is the most common gear ratio, which means you will probably be doing 3000-3500 at 60-65 mph. That's OK for some people, not OK for others. Drive it at highway speeds to check the cruising rpm. A R180 isn't going to last long with a good V8. Plan on upgrading to a R200 pretty soon. Lots of good buys out there right now. Check around and don't overpay in today's market. If you smell BS, it's probably there somewhere. What are your plans for the car? Street cruiser, drag car, road course car, or some combo? jt

That's looking great. A nice, clean job. What kind of block did you use for your engine? jt