I'm too young to have a "back when" story but I'll tell you about something my dad did. Back in the 70s when my dad was in high school he built a hot 327 with a Muncie trans for his 57 Chevy. One day he was testing the clutch and ended up falling off the milk crate he was sitting on and the car just kept idling down the road.
I have an Edelbrock carb and intake manifold so I don't know if the linkage is completely stock but I think it is.
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r574/Patrick_Mosier/Mobile%20Uploads/462C8C0F-60B3-4007-91FA-D3F33568B856_zpsyzgjm50w.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r574/Patrick_Mosier/Mobile%20Uploads/70C378A6-D31C-4E8D-A8E4-A1DD374ACC53_zpswqmxdsd9.jpg
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r574/Patrick_Mosier/Mobile%20Uploads/0F852EB1-0878-43FC-9581-101DF1CA7029_zpsosc6it1n.jpg
This is the stock bracket. http://www.cjponyparts.com/accelerator-spring-bracket-v8-4-barrel-1965-1966/p/HW1333/
The dipstick is next to the coil and you can see where it goes into the timing cover.
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r574/Patrick_Mosier/Mobile%20Uploads/1FA72C11-3844-4EB6-99C0-4C319EDCAEDA_zps1tisjrqc.jpg
The yellow thing is the oil filter. I didn't realize how hard it was to get to from the top.
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r574/Patrick_Mosier/Mobile%20Uploads/9F51616B-F5F7-45D8-8FFA-CD70B17309E8_zpsalpbrnvu.jpg
BTW, The heater hoses are not in the factory location.
I'm 15 too and I enjoy building models because I can build cars that I can't have. I have been away from the hobby for a little while because I have a 1966 Mustang, 1979 H/O, a 1971 Camaro, and a 2001 Dodge Dakota so they keep my pretty occupied.