anyhow, it's flat now, not pretty - still have a bit of touch-up and cleaning work to do, but it's a never-ending project. not happy that everything isn't parallel, but it works very well - follows path of throttle and returns the same - should be all set there. on a side note, the motor is sounding pretty good - still not final tuned/timed, but it's close - very close. put it in D and just blipped the throttle real quick and squealed the tires
idle sounds good, not as "lopey" as described, but i do have different heads and headers/larger exhaust, so with stock exhaust it may be a bit more rumbly. and for the record, the XE268 is known as being "ticky" - definitely not, really it's pretty quiet 
next up -- custom aluminum dash with mechanical gauges, my switches/relays, etc. in addition to a completely new wiring harness.....my factory wiring has been hacked on and isn't in very good shape. everything just stopped working - i'm blaming the bulkhead connectors, but when i got under the dash to start wiring i got pretty frustrated and decided on stripping all of the stuff i don't use/want/need, so no more heater, radio, cigarette lighter, dome light, any of that junk.
instrument cluster will be very utilitarian - mehcanical speedometer, temp gauge, oil pressure gauge, and a voltmeter. then, a covered aircraft-type ignition switch, push-button start, and other rocker/toggle switches for my other accessories i have/may add. i think i will leave an opening for a DIN head unit, but for now that's not important. i thought about getting rid of the wipers as well, but sometimes i do drive in rain, so i will be attempting to use the mopar headlight and wiper switches i have (2 sets). if i do decide to put in a heater, i think i may use an aftermarket-type unit under the dash and run a pair of defroster hoses - again, still not sure on some of the particulars. should be an interesting project, but may take me awhile to get done. when this starts, i'll start a separate thread for anyone interested.
