Once I got the car here in California I drove it for a few days to see how it ran. I had a transmission problem right off the truck that wasn't happening in South Carolina and the Flowmaster 40's were WAY to loud. I then made a punch list of things I wanted to get done on the car before I really started to drive it. Since I am not much of a mechanic I took it to our local Hat Rod shop for a full going over. Don did a wonderful job and I want to acknowledge that considering the length of this list.
Here is the punch list.
Rebuild transmission, (a seal failed).
Change stall converter from 3500 RPM to 2500 RPM to increase drivability.
Replace upper control arms with boxed arms to match lowers.
Replace rear coil springs, these are shot. Completely compressed, just old.
Fix Air Shocks, they were leaking air.
Re-gear rear end with 3:73 gears.
Replace upper control arms (spinning in axel housing).
Replace/cut front coil springs. The spring work is to adjust the stance of the car. I want it slightly down in the front. We expect to remove only half a turn.
Align wheels after this and make sure steering wheel is centered.
Remove and correct power steering reservoir. This bugger from Zoops had been spraying fluid since it was new. Don worked on it... the darn thing comes from Zoops with fitting internally wrong. These guys had seen it before. It was a simple internal fix to turn fitting in the reservoir.
Re-spline windshield washer arms.
Tack weld loose lower control arm bushings to arms (common).
Install door lock rods
Replace rear package tray- I Personally SCREWED this up trying to punch it for the rear speaker. The after market ones do not come punched. The local upholstery guy did it perfectly with no problem.
Remount speaker under tray. We had the wrong speaker here. If you have a stereo rig you need a dual cone speaker. AutoSound has it but not always in stock.
Drill and stake the steering shaft.
Redo brake line to not run under frame.
Install electric T-400 kick down switch between the transmission and carbs. This was just something Don was not familiar with
recalibrate the speedometer to account for the gear change in the rear end
Replace Flowmaster 40's with 50's. I HIGHLY recommend going to a local speed shop and find someone who has performance mufflers before you buy. The sound file on the web sites give you the tone but not the volume level.
Replace hood springs, they were just wore out and sagging.
Tune up and re-curve distributor.
Install gage package under dash - I only had idiot lights and quickly was not happy with that. This is a water temp, oil pressure, and volt meter.
Fabricate semi-custom bumper braces for the front bumper to account for the 1966 frame and 1967 boday. There is a slight difference in bolt hole patterns.
This list is long but it is the result of starting the project as a twelve grand driver and turning it into a hot rod as we went along. I swear I could have done it for half the price by PLANNING ahead.