I was originally going to just let mine go natural, but those look so nice! And all rust looks so crappy.

Yup,very well said indeed Mark. Now to your comment "I've been successful at it. Most of the time!" ....Well ,now to what I'll call my Ridgid tool debacle! I bought this thing to do exactly one flare on my 3/8 stainless pump to carb line, after which I would decide whether or not to keep it. After much careful bending and positioning of the line I cut it of with my jewellers saw so as not to work harden the stainless,filed it square,chamfered the inner and outer edges and clamped it into my new tool.Double checked for correct height, lubed the line end a bit and set the tool to work. Now, this tool has a small spring loaded pawl with a slightly beveled face on it that is supposed to release as you tighten down...As I wound into the tubing the tool's cone the flare formed ok but when I figured I was "home" the little pawl didn't release. So I exerted more force while scratching my head lol and well I got a nice shiny flare and a broken tool out of it! Was I mad?  Well,I began to look for a cause and discovered that the little pawl with the beveled face was in fact installed backwards! I mean there are only two ways it can go and who would ever look for that out of the box!!  This condition caused me to continue cranking when my gut told me something was wrong...so now it's broken and I have to get parts to fix it and ridgid doesn't ship to Canada! Odds of getting them to warranty this thing are unlikely now because I dismantled it to find the cause! Maybe someone knows a member from the US I could make a deal with to get the parts and mail them...E-Replacement Parts shows stock but....shipping.. does anyone know of a Ridgid parts joint in Canada?  If I don't repair it it's worth nothing so I'm learning the hard way on this one. The tool itself appears well made. No Mark, it doesn't do double flares...most double flares are 45 degrees..this thing is only for 37 degree AN/GIC single flaring.   Also   I have run into this type of what I call quality control issue more than once in recent years and it always bites!!

   Here's a pic of my original spark plug heat shields after initial scraping and a muriatic bath....about 4hrs worth of time. Incredible metal. I'll now rinse these down with wax'n'grease remover and lightly oil them....These will get no paint.       BlackRock Tools is where I got my flaring tool.....Canadian side of the line..best price. I've sent a message to them regarding my concerns..

I personally have never seen painted ones,Carl, but that doesn't mean much!  My exhaust bolt locks are the original units as well complete with the letter "B" stamped into each one! The starter support bracket,which I thought would be black shows orange all scrubbed up so orange it is. Lots of stuff here isn't exact Like the fuel pump,intake and carb,the new 3/8 fuel line, air cleaner,poly engine mounts etc. I want it to "look" stock and clean. I'm almost done the engine....now for the 2 spd..Just cleaning and a new converter seal and maybe paint the pan. I did the rear seal , mount , and re&re'd the shifter and scrubbed all that last year. 

  these are shots of my finished motor....ugh..I'm done here..63to one engine stand is for sale          I'll post some pics with the tranny on and then installed. I've got a few bits left over incl the stand and hoist....If anyone wonders what the plugs are..AC45's    the ring gear has some slight starter burrs on it so no shims and torqued at 35lbs. There are not according to me very many detailed ,easy to see, images of these older and even older engine compartment type photos/views. Well ..here's mine

"There are not according to me very many detailed ,easy to see, images of these older and even older engine compartment type photos/views. Well ..here's mine"

You are right at that! Make sure you post shots of the plug wire routing.

Thanks for the votes of confidence guys. Those tubes are the stock warm air tubes ...one goes to the original choke and the other goes on the air horn of the carb .There is a dedicated tube inside the exhaust manifold that these two tubes stick into. I kept them in place in the event I ever return the carb set up to stock.Both tubes are available online including the little sock that goes over one . I tapped the mandrels out of a couple of aluminum rivets and popped the rivet bodies into the tube ends to help keep dirt out of em. The thermostatic flapper/spacer on the exhaust studs is also part of this choke set up. You can get a spacer with no flapper in it if it's not used and also one with the flapper in it new..They are a bit pricey imo. My flapper in the spacer is gone which is just as well considering my current set up with dual exhaust. I think with the 4 bbl and the dual exhaust the horse power rating went from 195 to 220 on these 283's with the 2 inch manifolds. I just picked up my new decals for the oil filter housing out of the mailbox from Zip Corvette....I got two just in case I mess up. I got four of the valve cover decals for the same reason..good thing cause I put the first one on backwards!!   Ridgid tools said go back to BlackRock tools. BlackRock Tools is sending out a replacement flaring tool and want the old one back...Replacement bits are ordered and on the way from Motion Industies.......Gawd  

On the topic of the intake exhaust passage, for those who haven't seen these, when I bought a Fel-Pro gasket set for my 327, it came with metal intake exhaust port restrictors to fit in the intake gaskets. Which I used. And I'll not have a heat riser valve. Just the core.

Allows some gas through, but no so much as stock. Probably 30% or so by the look of them. So on cold winter days (will be a year round fair weather car), the 327 will get some help, and not boil in the summer.

DonSSDD wrote:

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Many wire that flapper open or replace with a spacer-

Don

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 I just removed the flapper and Cold Weld epoxied the flapper pin holes. Instant spacer.