slantsixdan said

Which filler gasket are we talking about here? The one from the filler pipe into the top of the tank, on the floor of the trunk?

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slantsixdan said

Rear tires on your car are considerably larger than the biggest ones envisioned for use on this car when it was designed. If the previous owner was bound and determined to use those wheels and tires, the right way to do it would have been to have the rear axle narrowed—an expensive proposition, which is probably why it wasn't done. You may well wind up going to narrower wheels/tires to address this.

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slantsixdan said

Which gauges aren't working? Fuel and engine temperature gauges are controlled by a voltage regulator built into one of the gauges. This is not the same as the voltage regulator in the engine compartment that controls the vehicle's line voltage; the instrument cluster voltage regulator (ICVR) provides 5 volts to run the fuel and temp gauges. Best way forward if your ICVR has failed is to proceed per this page (using the electronic regulator the linked company offers). Note that the ICVR can fail in two ways: open (no power) or closed (full vehicle line voltage). If it fails open, installing a working ICVR will probably bring the gauges back. If it fails closed, the gauges will peg and then burn out (they're getting about 13 volts and they run on 5...), so replacement or rebuild of the gauges will be necessary.

Other potential causes of nonworking fuel and temp gauges include faulty fuel and temp gauge senders (fuel sender at tank, temp sender at engine), or faulty wiring between sender and gauge.

If your third gauge, the ammeter, is not working, that's a different matter; if the car's electrics work at all (even if some of them don't), but the ammeter doesn't register, it's either because the ammeter itself is faulty or someone has bypassed it.

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slantsixdan said

These cars are sort of infamous for water leaks up front. Sometimes they come from the windshield gasket itself—don't use epoxy or you'll hate yourself in the future when it comes time to replace the glass and/or gasket. If you've determined it really, truly is the windshield gasket that's leaking, and the gasket and glass are in basically good shape, take the car to a good auto glass shop and have them strategically apply urethane or butyl windshield sealant compound under the gasket.

But a very common leak that acts just like a windshield gasket leak is water coming in past the windshield wiper shafts. There's a kit available with all the seals and bits needed to fix this. It's not expensive and it's not terribly difficult to install. I have one of these, new in package, on my shelf and I'm not going to use it (sold my '64); I'll send you a PM.

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slantsixdan said

There are lots of holes in the firewall of these cars. Most of them have stuff running through them, but not well sealed. Get a package of strip caulk from the hardware store and go on a mission to find and plug holes. It helps to have bright light on one side of the firewall and deep darkness on the other. Also take a careful look at the hood-to-cowl seal; make sure it's present and intact and in good shape. You can get a new one from Gary Goers (info above).

Also, make sure the engine's PCV (crankcase ventilation) system is correctly configured. If the hood scoop and "340" callout are to be believed, this car has had an engine swap. There should be a breather cap on one of the valve covers, and on the other cover there should be a PCV valve with a hose running to the carburetor. If there isn't, if instead there's another breather cap, that's going to have you huffing crankcase fumes pretty much nonstop, even with good hood/cowl and firewall seals. If it's actual exhaust, then yes, manifold gaskets are where to start. It is very much worth your while to get the good Remflex gaskets.

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