[Gearhead999]

To strip the undercoating, it's going to take a petroleum based solvent. Like mineral spirits, kerosene, etc. I would probably try both. See which one strips better and which one you can work with. Like the fumes and harshness on you hands. I'd get some good rubber gloves that the solvent won't melt. Lots of rags and "scotch brite" pads should do the trick, you can get some pretty coarse ones at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Good luck to you there....that's a tough, dirty, hot, etc. job.

Painting the engine bay.....well it was a semi-gloss black from the factory. You can buy the correct, or as close as you can get, semi-gloss from Eastwood in spray cans.
Gloss black is nice, because it's easy to clean up after. But if you're fussy about is it original, which I'm not, it isn't correct. Either is painting the engine bay body color. Under side of the hood is body color though.

FYI, the Elderbrock carb you bought is perfect for what you want to do. But it isn't Chrome, it's polished. Looks good though. I'm putting two on my new engine I'm building for my Cougar.

I like the chrome accents too. Knock yourself out with them. IE...valve covers, oil filler cap, radiator cap, mastercylinder cap, dip stick, export brace, etc. Stay away from a chrome oil pan. They are out there and they are cheap. But, the chrome pan retains heat in the motor oil and that you don't want. You want the oil to dissapate the heat in the pan, not hold it.

That brings up one more thing. If you pull the engine and do the engine bay do yourself a favor before reinstalling the engine. Add an export brace. It's a "V" shaped brace that replaces the two channeled braces that go from the top of the shock towers to the firewall. The one piece "export brace" really tightens the front of the car up. You'll notice the difference when driving, cuts down on all the sheet metal, cowl shake and flexing. The part is inexpensive too.

Good luck.