First Steps

FUEL!
The car runs decent, and is in fair shape but I'd say out of everything the fuel system is probably the worst (and definitely the most dangerous) part of this car. So the first thing I want to do with the car is get the fuel system working properly so I can drive it safely if I need to move it before the strip down next year.  I'll need to:

• Install a new Air Cleaner to replace the missing one - the guy had a pie tin and crumpled plastic bag protecting the carburetor... luckily he took it off before he sold it to me but all I can think is the mangled hood pad fibers being sucked into the carburetor when I have to move it.  I just want to know what happened to the original Air Cleaner...?
• Replace the Vapor Canister Filter or the Vapor Canister itself.  The thing is rusted and should probably just be replaced.
• Replace the Fuel Tank - if I can't get the cap on who knows what kind of condition the tank itself is in.  I've been researching this one carefully- I'm definitely going to buy this one new, but I have to temper cost with quality.  However, I think I have some good leads.  
• Replace the Fuel Pump and all the Fuel Lines (including those that go to the Vapor Canister - might as well since I'm putting a new Fuel Tank in.
• Rebuild or Replace the Carburetor - Again, I've been looking in the classifieds to find a decent deal on buying a used Edelbrock or Holley.  I have the option of buying a carb kit and rebuilding my Rochester 2bbl... that might have to be my long term temporary solution until I can rebuild the engine.  Actually, it might be better to wait on getting a new carburetor so I can get the best fit for whatever form my 350 takes after the rebuild.  (bear with me folks, I have a tendency to work things out while I'm writing)
• Install a better Intake Manifold - This will have to wait until I rebuild the engine, which I'm not planning on even attempting until next May.

I realize some of these things aren't necessarily part of the fuel system per se, but they're all related so I might as well start from there. 

So I bought an air cleaner stud kit and a siphon to empty the tank. Of course, the hose was too short to reach any of the gas a the bottom of the tank... but I have some tubing that I used for my swamp cooler that should work.  The stud kit was only $5 at O'Reilly's Auto Parts.  I got the siphon from wally's world, it's a cheap one but it beats doing it the old fashioned way.

I also took some pictures but they all turned out blurry, so I'll use my better work camera to get some decent photos.

TIRES!
I was going to hold off on installing the new Rallys, but my wife wants to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks and I felt that would be a great opportunity to sell the old ones.  The old ones still have good tread and no cracks- they're really decent, they just don't look good on the LeMans.  They'd be decent spares for anyone with a 5x4.75" (5x120.7mm) bolt pattern on their car.  I'll probably sell them for $20 each.  Plus, it will improve the look of the car, which satisfies my need to have something cool to look at :)


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