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I decided.

Long ago tiring of such You Tubers blathering over a staged, "barn find" to generate hits.  Obnoxious twit.  At 20 years old, many of us had better knowledge base of early Mustangs.  I am curious exactly what the target demographic of this You Tuber is?

These "finds" were all over the place in the '70s.  In '77 my rust & damage free 500 sat beside the road for 8 months with a For Sale Sign of $3000.  I was the only person that had interest.  I passed on a SuperBird and factory, showroom condition Boss for similar money.

In discussing values with an exotic engine builder was informed, the hobby has become a dick swinging contest of wealth.  That few know whether to set dwell or timing first.  With a build priority on idle lope.

Oh boy......  Story time.

I purchased a new, unassembled side oiler in '78.  Was working at Ford in Livonia, so only natural Roush would blue print, balance and assemble it, and include his own oil pump. He did a tremendous job.  Ran flawlessly using Kendall 20W-50.  About 26 years ago it lost a head gasket due to detonation. The engine was torn down for a through inspection.  Wear was minimal.  Bearings and cam were near perfect.  A decision was made to upgrade the dated, Ford parts.  The Lemans rods got ARP bolts, new rod bushings and were resized.  Went .015 over for JE custom made pistons to suit the new, ported, Edlebrock heads. Valve train is a 294S grind with shell lifters.  Balance was fine tuned.  Rocker shafts and rocker arms are Dove.  The wrist pins, lifters and rocker shafts were micro polished with 1000 grit lapping film prior to Dicronite coating. After extensive research including extended conversations with oil industry chemists at the PRI trade show, Mobil 1 15W-50 was decided upon. In 25 years I have not had to adjust lash.  .000 cam wear.  Engine regularly sees 7000 RPM.  I could not be more pleased.

Thank for the feedback.  Yes, I've seen the heavily advertised S.D. rebuild kit.  Anything they sell, I've inspected, is disappointing quality. Fear the pump kit is no different.  Curiously, AMK advertises an "American Made" kit. Carter's web page shows kits available.  Their "contact us" email has been useless.

Locally, alcohol free fuel is 91 octane.  Other stations offer 93 and some Sunoco stations sell 94.  I can't risk detonation.

Bob, sincere thanks for the agreed reply.  I too am apprehensive of aftermarket kits with an incorrect, pressure spring. After suffering a totally destructive car fire, now insist on replacing anything suspect with correct parts.  Will be reporting back on  what I buy and inspect for a kit.  Worst case, I make my own diaphragms from fabric reinforced neoprene.

Please redirect if this has been addressed.  A search has offered no answer.

During the past summer, my FE engine has been increasingly, hard staring. Believe I have tracked it down to the rebuilt, NAPA fuel pump I installed in '79.  Regardless, I'm suspect of its condition.  Especially with 37 years of alcohol fuels and extended storage intervals.

My question is, does anyone, including Carter sell an X-series kit with ethanol-compatible rubber parts?

I see an infamous, Asian parts distributor's kits I would never dare use. Thoughts?

Oh. I will also be changing the inline, canister filter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DeUn_esFLSM/

My side oil build got a 294S cam grind.  Even with the OEM vacuum canister, brakes were funky. Tapping the brake pedal would have it sucked to the floor. Sent the OEM Midland booster to Booster Dewey.  That was about 20 years ago.  The car has had flawless brakes since.

In another lifetime, (1981ish)  I worked at the Ford Essex plant in cam mfg.  Learning initial cam profiles were developed by Don Teweles of General Kinetics.  In visits to Don's cam shop he shared a wealth information on SAE papers discussing cam engineering.  Keep in mind, this was well before CNC cam grinding, while still being done on Landis machinery from templates.  At the Essex plant there was  first generation, digital, profile inspection.  It was exciting to learn how lift acceleration is calculated and very rapid return is decelerated to gently set the valve upon its seat.

Fast forward.  It's a minefield out there of shops making "custom" cams with no formal, OEM, engineering training or valid inspection.  What I see on YouTube make me cringe.
https://vicivisionamerica.com/

A thought.  Many, older, steering box sector shafts are obsolete and extinct.  As are the thrust bearings.  I've rebuilt a few, early Bronco, PS boxes.  Core condition varies widely.  Finding "usable" sector shafts and spools is increasingly difficult.  Also, the recirculating balls are selective in .0002 increments. I'm not aware of anyone having these made, or an OEM source.   I was forced to modify INA iglide polymer thrust washers to replace bearings.   There is a difference between reassembled and remanufactured.

Thanks for the link detailing suppliers.

In conversation with builders we have pondered a means to advance quality.  In many premium builds it is necessary to cut, weld, extend, shrink, and contour panels to be "perfect."  Having done that, it is now possible to 3D scan that "master" panel to directly produce a stamping die.  The CAD file can easily be mirrored for the opposite side.  Would go beyond the fit any OEM ever manufactured.  Question becomes, as our cars get older, is demand there for super, premium panels?

Interesting thread.  My Dec production '68 was purchased unmolested in '77.  Antenna is on left rear.  Curious to me as front and rear mounting may have different cable length.  If rear mount, I'd expect the cable would have been routed prior to carpet and seat install.

I have always set Ford dual point dwell as, 27 deg each, with 34 deg combined.
For an OEM "look" with much improvement, now use an All-In-One vacuum advance distributor.  Summit, Jegs, and MSD all sell the same product.

To use an apt expression, this guy needs to get a life.

I don't even know where the original tires, wheels, and hub caps are that came with my 68 when I bought it with slots in 77.

Oh, if that goober wasn't such a poser, he'd know "Shelby" text was emblazoned on dozens of unrelated items in the late 70s.  Hell, I had hose same, plastics wheel centers on a set of Auto Drag wheels.

Years ago, I would frequent area car shows. Indifferent to trophies.  Later, gladly paying the registration fee to support sponsoring charities.  Find a place to park on the show grounds.  Walk around, say hello to friends, suffer the intolerable do-whop music, and leave.  I'd rather drive my car than try to impress strangers.  Always puzzled by the old guy, sitting alone in a lawn chair with a professional placard extolling it's one of the 2000, in 200,000.

interesting thread with very knowledgeable input.  Curious, at BJ and Mecum auctions do buyers closely scrutinize a restored automobile?  Having toured the cars at a BJ auction about 25 years ago, there was no way to get under a car to see what being bought, or even hear it run.  Got the impression buyers were focused on a fresh paint job and underhood detailing.  Bizarre.

In my world, I'd want to make compression and vacuum tests, then a highway road trip. Noting a stable coolant temp. Then a lift inspection for leaks and collision repairs. Block originality is pretty low on the list.  An honest to God, original, pristine, side oiler upgrade being the holy grail.  But that's just me.

Thanks for the valued advise.  I will follow up on both options.