Thanks!
Went to the local tire store today and had new shoes put on the front. The sidewalls on the old ones were pretty age checked, and they scared me.

 

Yeah old tires are never fun to drive on. Doing the same thing on 33 ford tomorrow on the rear. NSRA is only week away

 

They looked almost new, so it seems someone bought them, and then let the car sit for years outdoors. Looked great when I bought the set at the swap meet, but now I need to look at the rears I took off also, and see if they're aged too.
No big deal really, as I gave $325 for all 4 tires and mags, and those ET's go for around $300 per wheel.

 

That's how the trucks were. Looked like new no checking or anything just 20+ years old. Put new on the front last year made a world of difference. So now time for the back. Dairy Queen was light last night due to looking like rain

 

Gotta get out to DQ one of these days! We went to the Oldies butt Goodies drags in Woodburn today. My neighbor and I drove our Austin gassers down, and decided to check mileage by topping our tanks full before and after. He got over 19 mpg on his 350 with 3.73 gears, and I got just under 22 mpg with the 327! Cruised at 55-70 mph, depending on what the limit was.

 

Stopped by the classic Chevy store on the way home today and got a couple classic Chevy stickers (Super Chevrolet Service) for the sides of the bug catcher. Noticed the scoop was loose, and the openings for the bases are a bit large for the Holleys. Got out the pliers and gradually bent the bottom edge in, while working my way around until the whole thing was tightened up to fit.
After getting the scoop refit, I swapped the water pump pulley for the new one. Then dug through my old scrap pile and came up with one of the heater control cables. Pulled the longest one apart and cleaned/lubed it. Then drilled a hole in the firewall and snaked it through to the carbs. Hooked it up to both carb chokes to work as a manual choke cable. Had about 1/8" left over on the length! Must be made for the Falcon's chokes!

 

Nice you planning in takin the Austin to nsra this weekend? Weather looks like its gonna be good

 

Not sure I'm even going to NSRA. If I do it will just be to walk through and look at the cars.

 

Tried out the choke system this morning while it was cool, and works great! Car only needs one start, and just adjust the choke position to keep it idling until it warms up. After warming up, I tweaked the idle mixture screws and got the engine running a bit smoother. I can hit the key now without giving it any throttle and she catches right off.
After the tuning I went to Home Depot and bought two rolls of the foil backed foam sound deadener/heat shield. The floors and firewall get pretty warm from the fenderwell headers, so I put on the insulation to try and reduce the heat. The two 15 ft. rolls did the whole floor front and back, and I found a partial roll leftover from the Austin, so I put a 2nd layer on the front to further reduce heat in the summer.
Cut up some leftover carpet from the Austin also, so I could toss it down like a floor mat to keep from screwing up the insulation until I decide what I'm doing for floor covering.
Pulled my dome light apart today, and got a replacement spring/contact piece for it. Took the guts out, and spliced in the new guts. Then wired it into a switch on the dash. The door switches on Fords aren't compatible with the grounding switch on the GM headlight switch, so had to wire it separately.

New sound/insulating material down. $39 for two rolls at HD.:


Couple pieces of old carpet for now:


Of course I had to get my Chevy colors flying!

 

Got a few more things done today. Got the pass. side air duct to old heater closed off. Also got the kick panels and rocker covers back on. Cleaned all the leftover supplies and tools from the trunk, and got the factory trunk mat laid out that a friend gave me! First time the trunk has been empty in months! With working in the canopy, I use the trunk as my toolbox, so I can just unlock it and go to work on the car.
Have to weld a couple more gusset plates on the front sheetmetal tomorrow. The back edge of the wheelwell needs a sheetmetal gusset to help reinforce the brace to that area.