FINALLY got around to fixing two persistent oil leaks. First one was from the secondary oil drain plug near the points cover. That was a BEAR to get off. Had to pull out my impact driver and thor's hammer. The other leak (which was pretty bad, I might add), was from the oil gallery plug inside the alternator cover. For some reason, I thought it would be a bear to get that plug out. Turns out all I needed to do was get a tent post (those cheap fiberglass ones that have elastic inside and they connect together), put it in, and tap lightly a few times. I was amazed at how little effort was required. Putting it back in was equally easy, and I was equally surprised. I also found it that it was aluminum after hitting with a too small punch and deforming end piece because it bottomed out in one hit.
Earlier in the day I spent about five hours out hunting down SS allen head bolts, and an o-ring for the oil pump cover. Managed to find the o-ring at the local hardware store down the street, because all the national chains didn't have one. Changed that out with little effort. Did manage to rough up one of the cover bolts, but nothing too bad.
I ordered the three oil pump o-rings last week and they came in today, so I picked em up. $16!!! I promptly lost them. The price isn't really what irks me, it's the fact that I had to wait a whole week for them. I figured out the sizes in both metric and SAE, and will be going out to hopefully get them at about $.80 each tomorrow.
Bought some Rustoleum hi-temp (500*F) grill spraypaint and will be painting a few pieces. Quick question about that, will that be enough to stand up to a mid-pipe (exhaust pipe after the collector and before the muffler)?