Hello all,

I am a previous owner of an 87 that was in great shape. I sold that car but one passed by me that i couldn't pass up. I got the car for $600, I'm hoping that I can fix it up just enough to enjoy it. Even if it has some less than ideal issues, if they're workable it could be fine! The engine was swapped for a non original sbc 305. I have taken and attached a few pictures, because to me this engine bay looks like a mess and sort of a hack job. I want to present it to you all, to tell me what you can see that I should address that I may have not seen.


So far things that I've noticed/know are wrong:

brakes dont work at all. The pedal is very easy to press and you get about 5% braking (just enough to stop). Since this is a major issue I am likely to have a mechanic friend fix this for me before doing anything else to the car.

Next issue, I noticed that the radiator did not have any fluid filled when I removed the cap before giving it a start today. I was added 2 gallons of water, and I could then see the level at the rad cap. I didn't see anything leak out once I started the motor but I did watch the temp and it rose up to the red (although pretty slowly) and I shut it off once it did. One thing to say is that the radiator in this car is not original, and it has a clutch fan which I'm not sure belongs or not (my old one was dual electric fans). Could it just be bone dry of coolant and I need to add more? Would the radiator level drop once starting and I needed to continue adding? Another note, the fan appears to be pulling air away from the radiator rather than blowing towards it, is this normal? I also attached some photos where there is coolant pooling up at the thermostat / housing. I have read this is very common among SBCs.


When i start the vehicle, it struggles to idle and will due out. If you keep it slightly revved for a few, it will idle just fine (although slightly rough to me, but again no idea what cam might be in this etc... I'm thinking the carb might need a tune? Is this easy or something I should get a mechanic on as well?

I recognize i may have been sparse on certain details as admittedly I'm not a mechanic, but I have a good technological understanding and follow directions well so I'd like to use this car and forum as a learning experience so I will do my best to get any other information required to help with any of these issues, I just don't yet know what more I should do to start tackling these issues.

Edit: will attach the photos later as I can't figure out how on mobile