Mark Maras

@882993md A rich setting won't account for the fuel in the air filter. Another possibility is the float levels being set way too high allowing fuel to pool on top of the nozzles. I suggest this because you did start the engine and I'm assuming it ran OK. I don't think it would have run very well with stuck needles. How easy did it it start and how well did it run?

LEDs or flashbacks?

Autobody101.com is a good site to pick up some repair info.

I've used both types over the years. Never had a problem with either as long as the fuel is clean.

You can mask them but I'd pull the headlights now. It'll make them easier to remove the next time you install a new headlight and it will also allow the elec. plugs to the headlights to be cleaned up. Corrosion and poor conductivity on these is frequently part of the reason for dim lights.

There is no easy way to remove the headlights. Jack stands, pull the wheels and crawl into the fender wells and remove the screws (use penetrating oil) that hold the headlight buckets in place. Anti-seize the screw threads when reinstalling. You'll be glad you did. The screws visible on the outside are adjusters.

Congratulations. Looks like progress. Now drive it normal for a week and take another look at the plugs.

Your cam appears to be fairly mild grind. Been looking back in older CZCC threads concerning SM needles. The consensus of opinion (curiously except Bruce Palmer) was that the SM's were too rich for a stock engine or a mild build. An interesting suggestion to lean rich mixture needles was to physically lower them (pull them out) .020" from the standard position. You might try that and see if the over-rich condition improves.

First things first. I still would like to know if the difference in color between #4 & #5 plugs is normally what you find when you pull the plugs and I'd still like to see the compression test readings. I know very little about the cam you selected and how "hot" it is but I'm beginning to believe that dealing with traffic and warm temperatures you may be better off with a cam closer to, if not, OEM and OEM needles. Keep in mind this is only one opinion. Other's may differ. The over-sized pistons will make little to no difference when it comes to the carbs. OEM Hitachi's work just fine on 2.8s. Taking a trip on the "WayBack Machine", this reminds of fooling around with small block Fords and Chevy's in the late 1960's. It was common to stuff a bigger cam into them and usually over carb them too. The result was similar to the symptoms you're experiencing. Lousy response at low RPMs. Loaded up plugs. Poor all around driveability on the street. Not saying that you won't get it running well, but the changes from stock aren't an asset at this point in time. Now back to # 4 & #5 plug colors. Is that normal?

Any more than light pressure on the glass after you think it's cut loose will end catastrophically. BTDT

Ditto to all of the above. I think driving in the rain is much worse. The water gets thrown up under the car. There are a lot more sheet metal seams and nooks and crannies that are exposed to moisture under the car than on top.

IMO, drive it normally before checking plug color. General opinion, that I've read, is the SM's are a bit richer a low RPM's.

Don't richen it up yet. Refresh my memory please. What needles are you running? Meanwhile, just drive it for a week, pull the plugs and send pics.

I agree with your diagnosis. The needle valve appears to be the problem.

The old one looks to be usable if it's massaged a bit. Maybe if the body shop didn't have to spend time on that piece they could repair the small rust spots by the windshield instead. It's worth a try.

Moog and Timken are good replacement brands. I would also add Spicer u-joints to the list.

I think it was Wheee that had a great solution (pun intended) for cleaning up sending units. Submerge the sending unit in undiluted CLR for 24 + hours. I had one that was so crusty that the float wouldn't move. That one took about 48 hrs. in CLR. The sending unit came out free of corrosion and the rheostat worked great.

Good advice. I'm surprised at the color variation in the plugs. Especially #5 and #4 since #6, #5, & #4 all run off the rear carb. @jalexquijano Is there always that much difference in #5 & #4 plugs?

Mark, The owner (Dean) of the 76 's phone # is 770 403 3887. I doubt the parts that Jai needs are build date critical.

Good question. @Redwing Jai, it would help if we had the vin # or build date from RedBird.

Just got a heads up from Jai. If all goes according to plan she and Greg (gwri8) are going to look at the donor car today. Anyone have suggestions about what extra small parts she should consider getting while she can, aside from the required body parts. Suggested items so far are the ECU, console that she mentioned was cracked, turn signal switch. This opportunity is too good to not include as many small parts as she can.

Excellent. I recently saw a 240 in Portland that looked pretty good rust-wise except a hole in the left quarter panel. I'm guessing the rust in only one place was caused from sitting with that side exposed to the elements over the decades. I've not used Tabco panels. I'm assuming that a good donor car panel may need less massaging to get it perfect but may be more difficult to source. Good luck.

Yeah, clean them again. You've already discovered how it will run with fouled plugs. New plugs would be better.

Carbon on the plugs acts like an insulator. What does it feel like when it's at 2 1/2 turns?

Replacement sheet metal panels are avail. at tabcoparts.com or a donor Z. How does the rest of the car look?