So an update: we got it all installed and stuff. I’ve been driving it… in the time since I last posted and right now either myself or my mechanical expert friend changed a few things. I put in a new passengers side CV-Axle, a new ball joint because once I got the CV-Axle in it was rubbing against the zerk fitting on the original ball joint… only place in town that had anything with no zerk fitting was Autozone with a pre-greased ball joint. Replaced the distributor cap because it had some grooves worn into the distributor contacts from the rotor… He checked the gap on the sparkplugs, they seem new and have a good gap.
I’ve been experiencing a vibration issue at 1500 rpm though. It happens at just under 35 mph under slight load, and seems to happen once the transmission has warmed up. Turning O/D off seems ot fix it completely but I don’t think that’s a reasonable long term solution. Given that this town has many 30 to 35 mph zones, I’ve been getting maybe 15.5 MPG. Not ideal.
Fun fact: I don’t care what any of you think about this job, “crapshoot” or not.
Just need some help diagnosing this damn vibration.