The two things that have to be reliable for the car to get you down the
road every day, are the fuel system and the ignition. You're taking care
of the fuel system and a few people have mentioned ignition pieces, but
the right thing to do is to make sure that all parts of the ignition
system are in good shape.
Check that the distributor's mechanical and vacuum advance systems work,
and replace the vacuum hose that runs from the vacuum diaphragm on the
distributor to the carburetor. Make sure that that vacuum hose is
plugged into the "port" vacuum fitting on the carb, otherwise you'll be
getting timing advance when you don't need it.
As previously mentioned, throw the points away and install either an
optical (Allison/Mallory/Lumenition) or magnetic reluctor type
(Pertronix, MSD or Ford Duraspark) breaker system, with the
corresponding amplifier and coil. My recommendation would be to get the
Pertronix, and if you're interested, I've got one here (Ignitor
II/Flamethrower II) that I only used for tach testing. If you get
interested in performance later on, then use the Pertronix or whatever
to drive a MSD or Jacobs multi-spark system - it will be more reliable
at high loads and high RPM, but it's a few hundred bucks you don't need
to spend right now.
Get new spark plug wires and plugs, distributor rotor, and cap. Make
sure the wires are routed correctly, especially #7 and #8, to eliminate
crossfiring. High quality 8mm silicone wires (NGK, Magnecor, MSD, etc.)
are a real frustration saver. Avoid cheap wire sets like the plague -
they'll sort of work, until the first time you go to remove a plug wire,
and end up leaving the terminal in the distributor cap or on the spark plug.
Make sure you've got a good timing light, get a timing tape (Mr. Gasket
makes one for the small-block Ford), clean up the balancer, index it to
TDC #1, and put the tape on. It will save you a bunch of frustration
when you're trying to figure out if the advance mechanisms are doing
what they're supposed to.
To answer your other question: New fluids in the engine are a must. For
one thing, the oil they're making today is better than the stuff they
had 20 years ago. It will also have been collecting crud in the pan for
a long time, and you want to flush all that out before starting the
engine. Antifreeze loses its anti-corrosion properties after a while,
and with the various aluminum, brass/copper, and iron parts in the
engine and cooling system, you want to make sure you keep the antifreeze
fresh.
You should probably get all new hoses for the cooling system, and if you
have a reliable rad shop nearby, get them to boil out and pressure test
the radiator and heater. If you have the budget, just get them rebuilt
right now. The heater valve presents an interesting issue: Possibly it
will be corroded into one position or plugged with crud. Freeing it up
will probably cause it to start leaking... Either way you're not happy.
Scour the local autowreckers for an early 1980's Honda Civic heater
valve - it more or less fits right in.
There are lots of other things to deal with, but having the plumbing and
fluids issues dealt with and the basic fuel and ignition sorted out will
get you going. One thing is to not try to dive into everything at once.
If you can, finish up the fuel tank stuff you're doing before going
seriously into the cooling system work, otherwise you'll have Tiger
pieces scattered all over the garage before you know it.
Good luck,
Theo Smit
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