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When the rain season recently started in Seattle, I began the teardown. My wife and I took a last ride around our driveway in custom seats, and the car soon after became non-drivable: https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resi...F4D55AA7B!2355
So far so good. Pretty happy with the little rust encountered. I'm aiming to be done by the time the car reaches its 40th birthday in 4 years. This is my first car project. Wish me luck, I'll need it...and your help most of all.
Ladies and gentlemen, and esteemed automotive enthusiasts,
We are gathered here today to witness a truly extraordinary moment – the reunion of this remarkable body with its long-lost rolling chassis. Just as two souls find each other in love and matrimony, so too do these components come together to create a masterpiece of engineering and artistry.
In the presence of this devoted assembly of car aficionados, I hereby declare that the moment has arrived for this body and rolling chassis to be united as one. With precision and craftsmanship, they shall combine their strengths, their essence, and their purpose to embark on a new journey, a journey that will see them conquering roads and leaving trails of awe and admiration in their wake.
As the body and rolling chassis come together, let us remember that this reunion symbolizes the harmonious collaboration of form and function, beauty and power. Just as love brings joy and fulfillment to our lives, this union brings life to this exquisite automobile, breathing existence into its very core.
Let us witness this moment with great excitement and anticipation, knowing that we are witnessing the birth of an extraordinary machine, crafted with passion and care, and destined to leave an indelible mark on the hearts of all who encounter it.
With the joining of this body and rolling chassis, we celebrate the marriage of design and engineering, of art and mechanics, in perfect harmony. May this automotive union stand the test of time, conquering every challenge that comes its way, just as a loving couple faces life's trials together, hand in hand.
So, with boundless enthusiasm and admiration, I pronounce this body and rolling chassis united in automotive matrimony. Let the engines roar, and let this beautiful journey begin!
You may now rev your engines in celebration!
If you think I wrote the text above, you're wrong. I just asked ChatGPT to "Adapt a wedding wording 'I hereby declare you husband and wife, etc...' to a body reuniting with its rolling chassis.", and that was its first answer.
Thanks FatCat! Good luck to you too - I'm following your threads.
Worked for 6 hours on the vette today. It's a good thing I'm tearing the carpet out. The noise deadening pad under the passenger carpet was soaked because of a past heater core leak. Luckily I did not see any sign of rust yet.
All the dash is now out, as well as both #2 bolts. They came out easily The rubber on the driver side was completely gone.
A little update. I have been doing baby steps pretty much on a daily basis, often until midnight.
The interior is almost empty now:
I don't know if I will ever manage to get that part back in place. Is it optional?
All body mount bolts came out rather easily...except #4:
The nut cage came off:
And now the nut and bolt are turning in unison. Still have not solved that problem. I either need a second pair of hands to hold the nut firm, or a sawzall.
In parallel I have been building shelves to store the parts taken off on the attic:
My multi-purpose hoist came in handy again to remove the hood:
Keep the info coming! I'm preparing to start tearing down my 77 in the next couple of weeks. I have a couple of club events going into the Christmas season and then my 80 is going into storage for the winter. Then my 77 takes its place in the garage for a rebuild.
At the rate you are going, I'm not thinking it is going to take four years! I love these major rebuild threads, it gives me the inspiration to dig in and get some things done on my car. You are doing it right, and I will follow along all the way to the end.
Good Luck, stay motivated, accomplish something every week, and leave some time for your family.
Thanks guys! I will probably not be able to sustain the rhythm of these first 8 weeks. My family and body won't take it The storage shelves are getting full - I need to build more of them.
Hi RB,
It looks like you have a nice project there!
I looked at your links and really enjoyed seeing all the pictures. I think they'll be very helpful as you restore the parts, and also when you begin to put everything back together.
It's not a race to see how fast you can do it... it's about enjoying restoring a car.
Regards,
Alan
Thanks Alan - please stay tuned, I'm sure I'll need your expertise sooner or later I have enjoyed the adventure so far. The dismantling phase is the easy one isn't it? So far I have taken around 1600 pictures. I only put a small fraction of them on the web.
Let's see - what have I done in the last 10 days?
Took the entire heating/AC systems out...
...as well as the engine harness
Except for the windshield and rear window, the front and interior are completely ready for take-off.
I'm so happy I need to blog about it
After trying a few unsuccessful techniques over the last month for getting the last body bolt out, I did the following:
Phase #1: cut off all the rubber bushings
Phase #2: a series of whacks with a hammer to get things loose
Phase #3: cut the bolt in two by hand with a metal saw blade
Bingo!
That's one option when you don't have a sawzall and the nutcage does not do its job.
Thanks Al and Swimtexan - I did find a few interesting factoids during the teardown:
I don't remember where it was, but here's some spongy block that will not find its way back in the car:
I also found these inspection labels under the carpet and in the battery pan:
E.T. Barwick Mills was a carpet manufacturer in the '70s.
Another date, 10/1/76, on the air conditioning evaporator core:
So the car was built right around the time my parents were building a brand new house in '76. I was 8 years old.
And finally I found this little guy hiding in the steering system:
He told me he came with the car as an option and is in charge of stopping all the oil leaks. He miserably failed, so I fired him.
09-27-2013, 12:53 AM
Three... two... one... lift off!
The rubber on the driver side was completely gone.
I have enjoyed the adventure so far. The dismantling phase is the easy one isn't it? So far I have taken around 1600 pictures. I only put a small fraction of them on the web.
