That is the exact tool I rented from the AP store. Ball Joints have been ordered and should have them by Monday.
Can you get a spacer for the intake to elbow, I think I have one, don't know what the opening size is. That would move the elbow a 1/2" and give you some space.
Great build! I've been reading this one since the beginning and you do very nice work. I'm really looking forward to reading how this progresses.
Here is some feedback, some comments, and a question:
Regarding the breather vs. cap on the valve cover, don't run the open breather - it's like having a large vacuum leak. If you have the low load PCV circuit at the back of the lower intake hooked up to the intake manifold plenum volume, then adding the breather allows the PCV system to draw in un-metered air. The PCV system operates in two modes: light / part load and high load. The hose from the filler neck allows the crank case to pull in fresh air after it's been metered by the MAF at low to mid loads. This fresh air flows through the crank case picking up vapors, then flows into the intake manifold through the PCV valve to get consumed / burned by the engine. The PCV valve is a fixed orifice size to keep the air flow constant at low manifold pressure / high vacuum. As intake manifold pressure goes up (towards higher load), the flow drops off and becomes less significant as a lower percentage of the total air flowing into the engine. At high loads (like WOT) where you can have positive crank case pressure, the PCV valve closes and cuts off the direct flow to the intake. The filler neck hose reverses flow changing from a fresh air feed to a dirty air high load circuit. Positive crank case pressure (resulting from some level of blow-by) flows out of the case into the zip-tube pre-throttle to get consumed. The main point here is that when operating in the low to mid loads zone where the PCV system is flowing air directly into the intake, this resulting fresh air flow needs to be metered by the MAF, otherwise you might have all of the same issues that come from a vacuum leak such as idle control problems and messed up fuel trims / adaptations. The other less critical issue is that having the open breather will eventually dirty up your engine from the oil / fuel vapors venting out through that breather filter when you hammer it.
The gold engine paint looks great! I was skeptical at first, but after seeing it in action I'm convinced. It really gives it a more refined / classic 289 look.
What brand throttle body is that? I've never seen an SN95 TB with that sort of finish - it almost looks like a billet throttle body housing in the pictures.