Making it a better driver

nm9stheham said

Does yours have drum brakes up front? I am a bit surprised on a '74 but I guess so. You may only have to change spindles and put on the rotors, bearings, etc. No need for any special aftermarket kit; the stock disc/drum system is pretty good when just put together right. And you should have 5 bolt large bolt pattern (LBP = 4.5" bolt circle) already....????

Click to expand...

Finished up a bit early today so had some time to crawl under the car. I most certainly DO have drum brakes. But, there appears to be a ton of grease coming from around the ball joints especially on the driver's side. The grease is basically right at the drum and I can't help but imagine that would impact braking if it got in there! I didn't pull a wheel off, but if those aren't drums, they're the strangest looking rotors I've ever seen because they look just like drums.

I did pull off a hub cap and it is the BBP 5 lug...HOORAY for something going my way!

This is also the first chance I've had to just have it running and wander around it. It smokes a lot when cold but stops when warm. It looks like there's a bit of an oil leak at the back of the valve cover gasket and the upper power steering pump hose looks like it needs to be replaced to stop that leak as well. The exhaust, looks like it has seen better days, so there's my excuse to upgrade that from front to back (except the exhaust manifold looks fine, but I'll justify replacing it with something else anyway). The carb is adorable. I don't remember the last time I saw a little tiny 1 barrel carb like that. It's just so cute. Clearly that needs to be changed out for something less 'cute'.

So, the list is coming along and little looks, and suggestions for what to look for, are hugely helpful in building that list!

Thanks everybody!!!!