DuckManNK

It got brazed. It's back in the car. I was making a shopping list and just said eff it. Required more effort to delete it than fix it.

Getting rid of the tank seems to be pretty simple, too bad everything else needs to be plugged off. The hose that broke off is the one used to T into the filler neck (It's the largest one of the 3). The hose that vents outside looks to be a larger diameter than the existing line. I would have to cap off the outlet at the far end of the tank and the one above the fuel level sensor. The existing hose is in ok condition so I wont have to deal with the 180 bend. I think I need to get a 3/4" to 5/8" barbed fitting to go into the filler neck. 5/8" is too small for the filler neck as shown here. Then I would need a 5/8" T for the existing line and the new line that would go outside. To plug off the existing lines. I was thinking of just going the easy/non permanent route, and plug the ends of the hoses inside the car. A threaded brass plug with a clamp is what I was thinking.

So I just had an expansion hose fitting snap on me. How undrivable would this make it? It's the larger hose of the two going in the bottom.

Yea, I already buttoned everything up with a composite/metal gasket. Sounds SO much better than before(obviously given the state of the old gasket. When I replace the header I will go ahead and get the fiber gasket.

Just wanted to share what the gasket looked like.

The journal looked fine. No scratches/gouges or discoloration.

Might have to replace it..

Thanks for the info. This is after I cleaned them up. Cylinder 3 was ticking, and the exhaust part of the gasket was blown out right next to it. New gasket is already installed. I still need to change out the valve stem seals.

Probably a dumb question: Does this material need to be ground down? The header was mounted like this for who knows how long. Any header I have seen has a flat mounting surface.

Why I am a bit concerned is that it seems like a feature of the main bearings and not rod bearings. Any product image I see of rod bearings show them smooth:

I removed the oil pan to have a look at the big end bearing on cylinder 3 and check the end float (I was worried about piston slap.) No metal shavings or anything shiny looking. I wiggled all of the other big ends while I was at it, and number 4 also moved a bit more than the others, although checking with a feeler still under .3mm. It's an L28 block. So I removed number 4 and noticed that the bearing had a groove down the middle unlike number 3. From pictures in the manual, I know that main bearings have that groove and big end bearings are smooth. Would this cause an issue? Side note: It was a blown exhaust manifold gasket causing the noise on cylinder 3 that had me worried.

I wanna say thank you to everyone that was here and helped me out. Y'all are great.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I bought it from someone in New Jersey. He bought it from someone in Kentucky. They used it for drag racing. It used to have a 6 point roll cage. It now only has 4 points with the two going to the footwells removed. There were many things in this car that were butchered or slapped together haphazardly. Example : They cut the springs all around to lower it. If you lifted the car you were able to rotate the springs by hand. So who knows if this person just said f' it when rebuilding the transmission (if it was rebuilt) and left the bushing out, or something entirely different.

During my drive I was feeling the shifter every now and then in different gears. I would say at most there was what I would describe as a buzz rather than a vibration. (I think vibrations as a little more violent.) I guess the seal was doing just barely a good enough job of preventing the rattle. Obviously didn't prevent the leak without the help from a bushing.

Here is the video after I installed it with the bushing. It absolutely does not move as much as before. I did notice that the transmission mount does move at the red mark. I also hear a clunking sound coming from the tail housing or the shifter: Sorry for the wind.