New distributor is on. Once I had the timing right (its been a longggg time since I did a distributor swap and I was out too many teeth), it fired right up. I got brave and took the truck out and it ran good. I thought I heard some pinging under load so I checked the manual for the timing spec (I had put it at 8 degrees when I set it). Factory spec for my engine is 0 degrees so I backed it down to 2 and its much better. Fixed an exhaust leak off the RS manifold and quieted that down. Went for another ride today and apart from finding a minor fuel leak at the pump fittings, all was good.
I drilled out my factory air cleaner everywhere its not visible (back side by the firewall and underneath) to improve air flow but still look stock. I spent way too much time wetsanding it with 400 paper and spray bombed it with Plastikote Hot Rod Black Lacquer. It came out pretty good. I need to get some factory decals to finish it off. Having some new parts on there is making me anxious to pull the engine, freshen it up internally and really make it look purty under the hood.
I'm going to keep driving it now, get it reliable enough to go anywhere, anytime and just work on little things here and there. I have to slow down the spending for a bit until I am sure I won't need any more mechanical stuff. Like said elsewhere on the board. I don't want to be a dumbass and blow my budget on new marker light lenses and decals only to have something else go on the engine. I'm starting a big, extended duration project next week at work where I can bank some extra money that will go towards lowering with spindles, coils and blocks.
