When I bought my '68 Dart GTS back in 1997, I was young and full of piss and vinegar. I had more of that than time, though. So, my project mostly sat for many years. Now, I'm retired and have plenty of time, the money to spend, and a real will to finish. Trouble is, I'm not nearly as durable as I once was and I surely can't take another 20 years to start driving. I'm 70 freakin' years old, and I want to drive my car before my kids take my driver's license away. If I had known then what I know now, I never would have approached the project as a complete disassembly/refurb. I mean I tore everything down to bare bones, started sand blasting, painting, etc., etc. If I had it to do all over again, I would have fixed what needed fixing and I would have been having all kinds of fun driving it all these years.
Anyone else had this experience?
Here's my latest thought to maybe bring the timeline in a little and eliminate headaches. I naturally assumed that headers was the way to go for exhaust system for the 340. The engine has a Edelbrock Performer and 850 CFM Carb, relatively mild cam. I will never race the car hard. Should I eliminate the header fitment headache, and just go with stock exhaust manifolds? How much dropoff should I anticipate, and will the rebuild be significantly simplified?
I just can't spend too many more years on this baby.
