myflat6

I thought I was done for the day but got a second wind. I removed the top camber plates from the struts (pipe wrench helps hold it from spinning), then removed the rubber bushings from the plates to get them ready for Elephants. I also separated the tie rods from the rack to make way for turbo tie rods.

myflat6

Ok - removed the front bumper and driver side fender. I was worried about rust and I was right. Most of the rust on the fender side was on the fender itself - along the joining edge and up near the gas filler. Will get a replacement fender. I need to clean up the joining edge on the tub to see if it requires repair - I think it may be ok, however there is a spot up high behind the gas filler and the top section of the fender joining panel that will require repair. Biggest surprise was the rust up front after I removed the bumper. I am in for some rust repairs with this car now. I will remove the gas tank next but I think it may be time to pause the rest of the work and focus on rust repairs. I may still finish the suspension work so it can be taken to a shop but I have more thinking to do - it will most likely need to be removed again for repairs up there - especially if suspension pan needs to be redone. I have never done rust repair before. I think I may cut the areas out, buy new panels and fit them so that all I need is someone to weld them. A lot more thinking to do.

Archer911

Oh ****! Sorry to hear that. Press on man. These cars are worth it!

myflat6

^for sure! The reality is I purchased this car because I wanted a project. I will admit I was hoping to avoid a lot of rust repair but I was looking for a project so I anticipated work. These old pre-galvanized cars all have rust that has either been repaired or need to be repaired. I guess the one good thing is I will know what was there and how it was repaired. A lot of pretty lipstick cars out there with these old longnoses with questionable work. One step at a time!

Spyerx

myflat6

^i think you might be right. Maybe some glass as well. The rust on this car is weird. The doors are in great shape - no rust in the bottoms. Most of the panels lacked the surface rust bubbles I saw on so many of these cars. The floors/belly( including pedal area), longitudinals,jacking points, kidney bowls and even passenger front all look really good - even the battery boxes look very good? Strange, inconsistent rust patterns.

Spyerx

myflat6

^car was believed to be originally CA car then spent time in WI and MI - neither great places for old cars, but supposedly wasn't driven much by owners there. You are right about the rear seat buckets having more to do with a failed window seal and probably washing the car. The more I think about it, it does make sense about the driver front being rusted as there is evidence that fender was damaged at some point - the fender seal probably wasn't great from then on. A lot of the rust up front, including why the suspension pan was replaced previously most likely has to do with battery acid - especially if this car sat for a long time with bad batteries in the past - must have leaked outside of battery boxes instead of back in towards the boxes. Oh well, like I said and you shared with your car, they all have some rust. I agree with your comment/tip about washing cars

myflat6

With the discovery of additional rust issues up front, I have decided to focus a little more on restoration - although much of what I have been doing to this point has been restoration vs. making this car a hotrod. So, knowing the car may not be on the road soon, I have begun to further strip the car and have a big garage sale on Pelican. My car is looking like it was left parked in south central LA -- it is up on blocks and mostly stripped. The interior is mostly gutted now, sans the dash/instruments and the headliner. I sold all of the items that I will be replacing in this build - including my original steering wheel, the original seats, the front bumper, the front driver fender, front M calipers, the original washer bottle, trumpet horn and jack (things that will not matter to me for hotrodding), ducktail spoiler, and more. I had already sold the entire rear interior a couple months ago, carpet, the sugar scoop headlights, original oil tank, rear bumper corners as well as the A/C system. I still have some suspension pieces I need to sell and get out of the garage/my dining room - yes, my dining room has been a storage/staging area for several weeks now - I think it is cool, but the wife might be getting a little tired of it All of this is being invested back into the build - many of the replacement parts for items mentioned have been purchased and waiting to become part of this hotrod.

myflat6

So, continuing the parts stripping and selling - today I removed the exhaust system. The car has headers now, but I have decided I will go with SSI's. It also has the stock muffler, but I will be going with the R/GT3 style centered dual outlet. I have done this job before - many years ago when I put SSI's on my SC. I sprayed PB Blaster on the studs/nuts a couple days ago. Today I took my time and used a torch to heat the exhaust studs in order to ensure none of them broke during removal. After heating, I would add some pressure with my socket wrench and if it felt too tight still, I just added more heat. With the right amount of heating, these things came off very easily. I removed every one of them without breaking one - however, the car already had 3 broken studs in the past - someone drilled out most of the broken stud and used a shorter bolt in their place and one of the threads on those bolts look like crap so it looks like it was forced in there and cross-threaded (see photo). It pisses me off to see people who don't take the time to do things right - this will cost me a few more bucks when I send in the heads as part of my motor build. I hope to get to the gas tank next weekend. I couldn't get my teenage son out in the garage this morning (too early for him haha) so my wife came out to assist me lower the exhaust assembly off the car to the ground.

myflat6

So I had to share this with anyone who is actually following this crazy build thread. My son just got his learner's permit. He needs time behind the wheel and has been my personal chauffeur lately. I figured I would get a head start on removing my gas tank (this weekend's plans) by siphoning the gas out of the tank. I had my son drive me to Harbor Freight for their $7 siphon special. Right before we left I found this killer deal on a set of SSI's on Pelican. I am never the first guy to respond first to killer deals, but today I was. I share my interest with the seller (first guy!), then my son and I are off to get the pump. We get home - I still forget about the SSI's - I head to the garage and get to work. I have my two gas cans and start the process of emptying the tank into these cans. I make a few trips and fill up the tank of the Volvo 240 I bought my son with this gas. Things are going pretty good until the line shoots out while pumping and shoots gas all over my pristine 993. Yes, my 993 was under the '72 while I was doing this work because it has been raining like crazy in SoCal so I didn't back the car out of the garage - in hindsight - dumb. So now I have to back the 993 out for an emergency car wash. I get her cleaned up - finish siphoning the tank out and come back inside to realize I also missed out on the killer deal on SSI's because a few hours passed and several others got in line for them and the seller moved on to the next guy. Ugh - what a day.

evilfij

Spyerx

oh man I saw those SSI, that was ag good deal and they were gone in minutes.
IBummed you didn't get them.
So when is the motor coming out?
Might as well get that thing going for the refresh while the body work is being done :-)

myflat6

Thanks - I am going to slowly approach this part of the project. Once I have an idea of exactly how many repairs are needed and the extent, I am going to take a stab at least cutting out and fitting new pieces - maybe just have someone weld the pieces. However, the guy who is doing my buddy's 356 right now is going to be looking for some work soon, so I may see what he thinks/charges. We'll see....

myflat6

Maybe soon - I will need to make some decisions once I get the gas tank out and fully inspect the front. My problem is that I will have no room for the motor/trans in my garage. I am already maxed for space in my little 2-car garage. It would make an interesting piece in my living room....hmmm...certainly the conversation starter when guests come over!

And yes that was a great deal on those SSI's - Robert (Super90) was 3rd on the list but didn't get them either.