quote:1) ...the amount of engine noise and vibration I get in the cockpit is insane. To give you an idea, if I'm slightly on the gas, the rear view mirror is useless.
The shaking mirror is a FEATURE. You really need to pay attention to what's in front of you rather than what's behind you as nothing can catch you! Seriously though, this is a common issue at certain engine speeds. Just grab the mirror with your right hand when you need to take a look. IIRC, others have reported that inserting a piece of rubber (or rubber hose) between the front of the mirror bracket and the windshield helps.
quote:I'm considering insulating the cockpit, but am nonetheless concerned that my car just vibrates too much and makes too much noise to be considered normal, and may be indicative of something wrong.
Nothing's wrong. Your head/ear is only 10 inches from the engine versus being 3-4 feet from the engine in a front-engined car. You will hear more noise. To cut down on some of the interior noise, remove the upholstered firwall cover and line the firewall and engine cover with Dynamat. Wouldn't hurt to also line the doors, floors, and roof if you want to pull your entire interior apart. A change of mufflers also helps. Be aware that almost ALL Panteras emit a low frequency resonance at low engine speeds - typically when idling through a parking garage at 1500 rpm (see how many car alarms you can set off - it's a game!) - this is a product of having the worlds shortest mufflers on a big V8.
quote:2) I get the faint smell of gas in the cockpit, and the garage wreaks of fuel for a looong time after shutting down.
As others have already said, FIRST AND FOREMOST CHECK FOR LEAKS!!! If there are no leaks, you need to rebuild or replace your carb. I had the same issue with mine but could not find any leaks. Took my car for a dyno tune and discovered that the carb was leaking gas into the intake manifold after shut down - a new carb solved that problem.
Enjoy your new ride, and all the attention that will come with it!