Summer recap

I've been pretty bad about blogging this project. I usually do a quick post on my steemit page when I have a day of work in the books.

Here's the run down:
1. finished the rear drum assembly, though I had to use some parts from the new spring kit and some from the old set up because things weren't going smoothly. Plus, I really had to rig things up to act as a second set of hands. But I did it. And the drums seem a little tight, even with the adjuster at it's shortest setting, but I've moved on.

2. I had a set back with the front disc conversion, when I finally thought I could move on to that section. Pulling out the disc kit I bought 5 years ago, I found the rotors to be too big...wrong bolt size.
After some searching and waiting for backorders to ship, I now have the proper sized rotors. Unfortunately, I am anxious to install them, as I may need spacers to get the calipers to fit into my tiny 14" rims. So...I still have not started the front disc installation.

3. While waiting on working on the front, I decided my plan of attack would just be to finish up the rear, first. Oh, yeah...the fuel tank! I thought that would be pretty straightforward. (I was wrong, again.)
       a. The 'J' bolt I had was the wrong style. which we realized as we struggled with the tank install
       b. with new bolt, I managed to install the tank alone. but couldn't get the filler neck into the new gasket.
       c. realized new gasket was also wrong, but this time I had the right one, which I had forgotten I had...which is what initially led me to ordering the wrong one!
       d. with new gasket in the new tank, I was able to finish the tank install

4. With new tank and rear drums done (and the trunk patch done well enough for my purposes), the rear end needed
      a. fuel line connected to sending unit on fuel tank :DONE
      b. rear shocks installed
      c. all rear end nuts torqued: I'd rather not talk about it but let's just say my torque wrench was out of calibration and I broke a nut...and have to go back and do it over after loosening all nuts I thought I had finished. So...still needs to be done.
     
5. Once I finish the list in point #4, I can move on to the front. My hope was to finish up and get the car on rubber and off the jack stands by winter so I could take down the carport and just tarp the car for the winter. But now I am considering just finishing up the brakes and such and wrapping the four wheels in plastic (as suggested by a member of a car group I'm in) and leaving it off the ground for one more winter.

And that's my summer in a nutshell. I'll bolt the bench seat back in and make sure my new door seals are in order and that will take care of all the cosmetic issues I was planning on addressing. The headliner and carpet are simply not in the budget.
I am putting a lot of faith in being able to get the engine running, since I've worked backwards, but when you're kinda flying by the seat of your pants, you do what feels right.

Sorry no pics...I just don't have it in me today.
Happy fall-into-winter!