In reply to GTXVette:
I picked up a section of 6mm line and a union at Autozone this morning - the closest Napa to me is new, and unfortunately almost completely useless - so I'll give that a try.
Did your car have ABS? If so, it's a completely different line & routing anyway.
You could drill the nuts out if you can keep the hole straight, don't forget to put the chamfers back on if you do. This would be best to do in a drill press if attempted. If the 1/4 bubble flare physically fits in the 6mm fitting it will seal.
Well that was a huge pain in the ass(what hasn't been on this POS though?), but the new line is spliced in.
FYI to anyone else attempting to use the Harbor Freight double-flare tool on metric lines - it sucks. I ended up using two c-clamps on either side of the arbor tool to squeeze the bar in tighter. Otherwise the line would just be pushed out the other side. When I flared the end of the line remaining in the car it ended up very crooked, but somehow it seemed to seat inside the coupler because I don't(yet anyway) have any leaks.
I still need to bleed the brakes, but I had decent pedal so I took it for a short drive. It fired right up again and idles smooth, and no more bog/miss from 1900-2200 either! I got on it a bit on the highway, and it pulled decent up to about 2500rpm, then sputtered a bit. I backed off for a couple seconds, then tried again - it did the same thing, then died. I pulled off, wiggled the connectors for the fuel pump relay/bypass switch, it restarted fine, and I slowly cruised through the neighborhood back home.
So I need to go back through the FP relay wiring, and I need to figure out something about the coolant/radiator cap: the upper cap always seems to release early and leak coolant out the overflow tube, even if the temp hasn't reached 200. Both caps are the stock 15psi. I'd like to find one with higher pressure, but no one in town seems to be able to figure out a p/n for anything other than stock...
The new tires are also much nicer than the old flat-spotted Hoosiers too. 
Kinda hacky but on the overlfow you don't want overflowing you could clamp a short hose one it and shove and clamp a bolt in the other end.
Also, it kinda makes sense that a 6.35mm/.250" flare bar wouldn't hold 6mm/.236" line very well. Even when the bar does fit I never had luck making bubbles with a double kit (and I was using a nice borrowed one), so don't feel too bad about that.
In reply to BrokenYugo:
Hmm...I hadn't considered something that simple. Brilliant!
I also need to go through and check/reset my advance still again too. Just remembered that.
Ok, I could use some guidance. I have an intermittent & random ignition miss. I'm pretty sure it's ignition because it happened when I was setting the advance, and when it occurred both the timing light & digital tach would dance around.
Considering every single component in the ignition system is brand new, what could it be? My only thought was possibly my wire routing?? How does this look???
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The bolt in the coolant line unfortunately didn't work. It just started pissing out under the cap. I replaced that whole assembly with the stock upper hose and just tried to pour as much coolant into the hose as I could. I know there's still air in there, but I have no idea if it'll be a problem. It seemed ok on my test drive.
I got the rear brakes bled too. Fortunately the 18"s have enough clearance that I didn't even need to pull the wheels. 
EvanR
SuperDork
8/13/17 7:57 p.m.
Old mechanics' trick for finding high-tension faults:
Dark garage, engine running, spray a fine mist of water on everything, look for blue sparks.
Has anyone used the cut-to-length plug wires? Just wondering how difficult it is to get them crimped correctly.
Also, what's an SBC wire loom that doesn't suck, but isn't too blingy?
Woody
MegaDork
8/13/17 8:41 p.m.
Pete Gossett wrote:
Has anyone used the cut-to-length plug wires? Just wondering how difficult it is to get them crimped correctly.
Also, what's an SNC wire loom that doesn't suck, but isn't too blingy?
We used to use them all the time when I was working on boats (20 years ago). If I recall correctly, we used to buy the kits for big block Chevys because they had the longest wires. The crimping is easy, much easier in fact than working down in the bilge of a twin engine motoryacht.
Msd cut to fit, and made4you wire looms. I use that E36 M3 on every v8 i can.
In reply to Pete Gossett:
Yes. They make a centerbolt version as well.
I use the linked version on ford and mopar a lot.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
Sadly mine is old-school side bolt
EvanR wrote:
Old mechanics' trick for finding high-tension faults:
Dark garage, engine running, spray a fine mist of water on everything, look for blue sparks.
Yeah, that. I believe I suggested that a while back.
Pete,
Make your own wire separators. This is brilliant. And Cheap.
https://youtu.be/hVFLgqLPVFk
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hVFLgqLPVFk?ecver=1
In reply to Indy-Guy:
That's an elegant and simple solution! Not sure it would work well on the Vette, since part of the challenge is getting the wires to clear the air tubes on top of the manifolds. I looked at the Smoothies Dusterbd13 posted, but I'm only finding them for center-mount valve covers. They're a bit pricy at $45 too, but seem well worth the money. However, I think I found a stupid-cheap solution, and I'm an idiot for not looking into it earlier. The reason I couldn't reuse the OE looms is because the plastic pieces basically disintegrated. I figured it was a dealer-only part, if it was even still available, but it turns out Dorman makes them for ~$7 and my local Advance will have a set this afternoon for me.
I'm also picking up a new set of wires while I'm there. These E36 M3ty AutoZone looms I have on there now were cutting into the wires, so I think that's my problem.
Unfortunately the OE-style looms I picked up tonight aren't going to work out. They're actually only 1/2 of each loom, the part that attaches to the mount. They don't contain the clips, which of course were all missing from mine. So I went ahead and ordered a set of the Smoothies. I did pick up a set of cut-to-fit wires while I was there at least.
I drove the Vette to the store, and it started raining fairly steady on the way, so I got to test out the wipers in earnest. They seem to work well enough, though it's sure odd having the controls on the door armrest. Unfortunately when I got there & turned off the lights, the driver's side headlight motor kept running, so I also ordered a set of replacement gears for both lights. Between the three purchases it was a quick way to burn through $145...glad I gave up on keeping under Challenge budget.
Before I left home I'd pulled the plug wires out of the looms so they were just hanging freely in the air, and it did run quite a bit better. So I'm hopeful that good looms & correct length wires will solve the miss I had yesterday.
SkinnyG
SuperDork
9/2/17 10:35 a.m.
I had to dig deep and find this thread.... But soft! What news?
Came here for Shakespeare, did not leave disappointed.
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Ok, combo second thread bump and plug for a Shakespeare comedy video I really get a kick out of..... his memorization is really impressive.
3 Little Pigs Shakespeare
Sorry, we were out of town a couple weeks for our daughter's wedding. Just got home last night to awaiting car parts - hopefully I'll have time this weekend to work on it!
This is what awaited my return: 
Unfortunately things aren't going to work out as intended...
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Since I do want to use these looms(and haven't found any others that seem like they would work), and also don't plan on keeping the stock manifolds forever, I think I'm going to get som longer(3-3/4") bolts, and find something to space them up high enough to give me clearance.
Had to do that on s few cars. 5/16 nut makes s good spacer.
They are a complete pain to remove, but it is VERY satisfying when those A.I.R. tubes (or whatever you call them) are no longer there. You can find plugs to fill the holes they vacated.
Warning...you will probably bleed and definitely swear should you try to remove them.