Where to start with a 73 4 door, 455, 4bbl ?

[yosuthnmasa]

Just recently bought a 73 4 door, with 4bbl carburetor. This car sat in a garage for a long time and is all original to my knowledge. I dont think anything has been replaced under the hood. It has 22K miles on it. Before taking it home, I had to replace the rubber fuel line to the fuel pump because it had a crack/tear in it. I'm curious what you guys generally do/replace on an engine thats been sitting for this long with 99% original seals, hoses, etc.?

For starters, I was thinking of replacing all of the rubber fuel line hoses, vacuumn hoses, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, wires & plugs, fuel filter, & drain fluids. I want reliabiltiy from the motor, but dont want to lose any "value" by making replacements that would take it out of its "original" condition. What other under the hood items do you guys suggest?

[EEE]

I don't think you will lose any value by changing hoses and gaskets. If I bought it, I would:

Change the oil
Check the fluid level in the differetial
Check for cracks in hoses and belts

If the car has been sitting with old gas for years, I would probably siphon that out.

Check the brakes, brake fluid level, transmission fluid level.

Drive the car a bit and then check for leaks on the engine and rear axle.

If everything seemed ok, I would then get an oil pressure and water temp gauge set. After that I would just drive it. Some people here would probably be a bit more thorough, but I would take the rest on as it would appear.

[yosuthnmasa]

Before I bought it, I drove it around for about 15 minutes. This allowed me to see the cracked hose going to the fuel pump. After another trip, I noticed a small leak from a line going directly to the carburetor. All I had to do was tighten the nut on that fitting. I'm just really trying to do some preventative maintenance, so I dont end up on the side of the road somewhere when doing smaller trips. Where do you check the differential fluid on the axle?

[gashog]

original Fuel supply lines should be solid steel tubing.
Or steel braided available from the aftermarket.

[EEE]

On the passenger side of the axle pumpkin, there is a screw in bolt that you unscrew. Use a medium size wrench extension, it's got a square head where one of those extensions fit nicely. The fluid level should be right at level of the hole, so if it starts to drip, it's all good. Buy a bottle of diff lube before you check just in case you need to fill up a little, then you can add it right when you're under the car, instead of having to go back in later. You can always return the bottle to the store if you didn't need it.