Turning Cold

The weather in Indiana has turned cold so it looks like the winter will be assembly.  The frame is under the body and I am preparing to finish cleaning/painting the rails for the marriage between the frame and the body. 

Body bolts/bushings are not available but there are a few options. I will provide a list of the kits that I was able to match for assembly.  Unfortunately, the hardware was too bad to save from the original and I will be making a few parts as I move forward this winter.  A little welding and I should have everything needed to put it together.






I have been reviewing the thousands of pictures from taking the car apart to make sure everything is correct.  Oh...how bad it was when I started.  Within a few weeks, I should have a rolling car again!

I am mounting the transmission on a stand to have it rebuilt this winter. I have an extra c6 transmission I can use as trade for services.



Seems like a lifetime ago!

In the past week, I have mounted the springs on the frame in preparation for attaching to the rear axle.  I did notice a slight leak out of the pinion seal and changed that before sliding it under the frame.

The real problem now is the cold and cleaning. With a small garage, all of my parts and frame are covered with a light dust so I will be cleaning and marking for some touch up soon.



Was it ever this bad?

I was also able to get the front end started.  New ball joints, wheel bearings, and bushings.  You will notice that I have put the old drum breaks on the front.  I hope to change over to the disk brakes but for now, I wanted to assemble to have the car rolling.  Changing to disk brakes can wait until a later date when there is more mobility.

I have to thank Autozone...of all places.  They had almost all of the parts and with coupons, it was actually cheap to get parts. Only a couple of parts were incorrect and easily located.

Curse and a Blessing

I know it has been a long time but life can sometimes get in the way of progress.  I have once again started working.  The frame is complete, the motor is complete, the rear is complete, the transmission is complete.  What have I been waiting on?
I have been able to get enough parts to almost put things back together. For sake of time and room, I have decided to finish the underneath of the body and put the frame back on. Having a two car garage has not given me much room. The frame is outside, covered in heavy plastic, but hopefully won't be out there for long.  This is the motivation I need to get it married back to the body.

Identification Code under body

The curse: 50 year old Ziebart rustproofing is over 1/8 of an inch thick over the entire underbody. In the channels for the frame, it is over 1/4 of an inch! It has held up well but some moisture has snuck underneath a few spots.  Scraping and brushing is taking forever for every spot.


Identification codes above left finder

Trunk pan = toast

The blessing: 90% of the areas are solid and only have surface rust. Once the Ziebart is gone, undercoating will be easy.  Next task after this will be trying to find the body mounts with the "special" nuts that attach to the frame.

I know there are some rough spots but that is the trunk pan.  I will be cutting that out and replacing it as soon as I get everything cleaned up. Only 1 side is gone but it is easier just cutting the whole thing out and replacing it.