Fixed!

Finally, after nearly two years, the car runs properly!

In addition to the plugwire I saw shorting the other night, one plug wire was disconnected. The car has been running on six cylinders for a long time. The plug was fouled something terrible.

I got the new shorty plugs installed last night, got the new wires and looms installed, and drove the car to soccer with my stepson. It has power now, like it should. It runs smoothly, like it should. I was seeing some pretty high temperatures last night (205 degrees coolant and 165 degrees intake air). I hooked the vacuum advance back up this morning, and that solved that problem. Not enough timing at cruise generates a lot of heat.

Oh, I also fixed the sticking rear brake. I took the drum off and sanded the shoes and the inside of the drum, then doused it all in brake cleaner, and cleaned the drum with carb cleaner. It still smelled like gear oil, I guess the stuff managed to embed itself in the pores of the metal. If the squeal and sticking comes back, I'll have to get that drum turned down a couple thousandths.

I'm pretty happy right now.