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I'm sorry to hear that Moodster. My condolences. You are correct, asbestos insulation was used extensively as pipe covering, equipment insulation (valves, pumps, turbines, boilers, etc.) as well as asbestos containing gaskets and packing, asbestos insulation on bulkheads, asbestos containing paints and coatings, electrical components, etc etc.

Industry knowledge of the hazards of asbestos dates back to the 1930s. Also, to put it in perspective, the Nazis placed restrictions on asbestos in the 1930s to protect workers (of course conveniently excluding slave labor) while the American shipbuilding and military industrial complex grew extremely rich building the fleet to fight the Nazis out of pretty much steel and asbestos (maritime vessels through the mid 1970s relied heavily on asbestos insulation, gaskets, packing, and phenolic materials - ultimately causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Navy veterans).

The industry defensive argument is that the heat generated from braking causes asbestos to be converted to forsterite, a non-carcinogenic mineral. Most "experts" that have not been paid by the automotive industry don't put quite the same faith in the total conversion, nor do I, but there is some evidence to support it. I generally look at the arguments about asbestos exposure the same way as cigarette smoking; we all know people who smoked like chimneys their entire lives and didn't die from lung cancer and yet we accept that smoking is dangerous. I don't smoke. I also try to avoid inhaling asbestos. Statistically, I will likely die from something else and yet I don't feel like rolling the dice on this one. Speaking of brakes, I'll leave this little nugget right here... 1966 Bendix memo (brake manufacturer).

I ground off the "loop" that is used for the "J-bolt" that holds the spare tire down. If you look at the other pictures, I have underlying spacer boards that run from front to back in the trunk, and I positioned them to go around any "bumps" in the trunk floor.

Here's the kit that Mark used. It says they offer international post. They use a Walbro pump so can easily be upgraded or replaced. https://www.efihardware.com/products/c471/Fuel-Tank-Conversion-Kits

Yep

have all the brake lines and fuel lines/brackets finished up. only need a few more parts for the engine before i can lug it to the machine shop. likely later this year. cylinder head/manifold cam were finished up over Christmas.

Thank you, I rarely talk about it but the memory of my father is often with me. The larger lesson from this is that many products are dangerous and some hazards I'm sure we haven't even discovered. Still there is plenty of room to enjoy the hobby and be safe at the same time. I always keep good dust and organic vapor respirators close at hand.

My father was one of those who died from asbestos exposure in the shipyard. He lived about 16 months after his diagnosis. He kept huge posters of all the ships and submarines he had worked on in a hall closet when I was growing up. As a child I would occasionally sneak them out and look at them. My understanding is that it was everywhere on the ships - walls, pipes, etc wrapped in sheets of asbestos.