Phase I complete!

Tonight I removed the last of the donor items from the car. I'm trying to sell all my leftover stuff as a package to FastLane Motorsports; I should know if they are going to spring for it tomorrow sometime. Otherwise, I REALLY need to respond to all these Craig's List emails I've been getting. So tonight I pulled off the transmission mount crossmember brackets and a fuel overflow hose. She's ready to be recycled now!

Note to self: make a copy of the title before I give it to the scrap-yard or to fastlane. Now the next step is the arduous task of donor part preparation, which includes cleaning. I hate cleaning. Maybe someone can give me some pointers on the best and fastest ways to remove and prevent rust from components like the rear end and gas tank, exhaust manifolds etc.

Pulling the Engine and Transmission

Or more accurately, pulling the frame FROM the engine! It's a pretty great idea that Josh M gave me and doesn't require a hoist. Here is a vid, watch the magic happen!

I got off work early today and headed to Lowes to pick up some supplies. I built 3 small dollies for the chassis and a large one for the engine. Then after Brandon got there, we removed the rear end and finished pulling a few small parts. In the manual, they say there is a clip that is riveted to the donor brake lines that you need to keep. I can't find this bugger anywhere. The only riveted brackets I could find were on the fuel lines. I may have to make a bracket later. After the rear end and drive-shaft were off, it was time to remove the engine and transmission.

Me and B-Zone get ready.










The engine has been conquered!










...and as you can see here, I'm all done with the kit and ready to hit the road!

Suspension pics

Here are the front struts still attached to the brake assembly.

Here is where they came from! Nothing left in the front but the engine!

Here you can see the rear end lying on the ground with the shock disconnected and springs removed.

Spench'n

Josh M came over today and we knocked out the front and rear suspension. We came up with a pretty great plan that will eliminate the need for an engine hoist at this stage of the game. Which means that I can get the tear-down done quicker. Although the suspension was a pretty big triumph, it came at a price.
1. I banged my wrist and it's swollen up now :-(
2. I had to spend $122 on tools (I knew this was coming though)
3. Josh cut his finger trying to get the driveshaft bolts off.
4. I broke my camera.

The night came to a close around 10:45 when we both needed to get some other things done. All in all very successful. The rear end is mostly disconnected and the front suspension is totally off.

I was taking some pictures at the end of the night and dropped my camera which broke the zoom lens and now it is stuck closed. DOH! I'll upload some pics tomorrow - meanwhile go vote in my poll from the last post!

The important stuff

This may be jumping ahead...a bit, but now that I've ordered the kit, the important stuff can be dealt with. Like the color!! So I set up a poll on the right for the best color scheme. Please vote! One thing to bear in mind is that black paint will show flaws in the body much more evidently than white paint. And since I am working the body myself, there could be a few of those!

Black w/ Red. This is pretty close to what I would do. Notice the pinstripe on the outside of the main stripes. My roll bars will be black.






White & Black. The main difference I would do here, mine would have black stripes and probably no black rock-guard.






White & Blue. The main difference here is that my car would not be a die-cast model. Lol. This one is really awesome, but I would have to chrome the roll bars later because they are coming in black.

We've taken the next step.

Tonight we ordered the kit although our breakfast nook, dining room, guest room, and office all remain without furniture (Chris and I had agreed that furnishing the house would come first). Factory Five announced today that for the next 100 kits ordered there would be a $2000 discount, and we simply couldn't pass that up.

Maybe I should win some kind of good wife award for being supportive and flexible. This award should come from Cartier. Also, Chris should de-ice my car every morning this winter since he'll be using my parking spot in the garage.

We should know shortly what the estimated kit delivery date is, and there will definitely be a party!

Bunch more stuff

I got started working on the car today after I did some yardwork. First I removed the shifter, then climbed underneath and pulled off the transmission wiring harness. Then I pulled off a bunch of other stuff like the hood release latch & cable, and the fuel evaporative canister. Then Brandon came over and we started working on the exhaust. While he broke some bolts loose on that, I removed the E-brake handle. We had to run to the store to buy a hack-saw to remove the exhaust. We got all the exhaust off from the H pipe back, but it's pretty much impossible to get the next section off until the suspension is off.

So, next I"m going to do the suspension then finish up the exhaust, then pull the engine and transmission. Then do the rear end and the gas tank. After that it's just a little bit of cleanup and time to find someone to get rid of the frame.