Gas

Exchanged by 60cu ft bottle today at Airgas.  Total was just over $50.  I do have most of the frame welded up, so this tank should last a good long time.  Also ordered my POR-15, and some bulk 40 grit flap disks. 

In grinding those welds, I've been going through flap disks at a phenominal rate.  I bought a fancy-pants one at Lowe's, but I don't get the impression that it lasted any longer than the Harbor Freight disks (which are less than half as much).   I've tried everything from 40 to 120 grit.  I prefer the 40's for faster grinding.  One nice thing: The cheap 4 1/2" angle grinder I bought at HF is one tough little booger.  It's been getting flogged for months now, and still going strong (knock on wood).

Next step: Touch-up welding, some grinding and POR-15 (when it comes).

After that:  Repaint/recoat floorpan/firewall and re-attach the subframe.  From there on, it gets expensive for awhile.  I'll need:

• Body/Radiator Support Bushings/Hardware
• Ball Joints
• Coil Springs
• Shocks
• Tie-rod Ends
• Steering Box (3rd Gen IROC Z)
• Disk Brake Conversion

The question is, do I spring for the disk brake conversion now?  I think the answer is yes, which will mean a $700 to $1200 hit.  But it does have to be done, and there's no sense buying the front and rear separately.

I was pretty surprised at how cheap the steering box will be.  Less than $200 from a number of vendors.  From what I understand, the IROC-Z steering upgrade is one of the simplest but most effective upgrades you can do on these first-gen cars.