The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
So... started making some progress toward getting this car back together. Of course it has to get taken apart first.
It really sucks that it sat for so long and I am upset with myself for not doing a better job of protecting it while it sat uncovered in a non-climate controlled garage for five years. Guess this is where the fable of the reconstruction begins.
Made a drive train dolly the other day to take everything out as one. I’ve been wanting to make one of these things for a while. It’s basically 2” square tubing welded together with my Hobart 190 mig.
In a way, fabricating this contraption was almost easier than fighting with the headers trying to get them out. And I will say even with a lift it’s still easier to get the engine out this way. I could take the trans out easily enough but then I’d have to have something in place to hold the back of the motor up until it’s hoisted out with a crane but that adds another step and another tool.
Obviously you wouldn’t do this with a car that just needed engine or trans work since the T-bars need to come out and the brakes, steering column, speedo cable, shifter and upper control arms get disconnected. That’s a lot of extra work to create just to pull a motor out.
Made a little time lapse video of the extraction. Yeah, forgot to unbolt the front k frame support and ended up bending the lower radiator support a little but not a big deal, will go right back into shape. Doh!
In other news, some new trinkets are supposed to be arriving soon, will be sure to give an update on those things when the time comes. Mostly undercarriage-related parts for now.
Now that the drive train is out it’s really obvious how grubby the bottom of the car is. There is literally 50 years of road grime covering everything. I hadn’t really planned on doing any body restoration stuff but man, the underside of this car is pretty crusty. Not a big fan of working in that type of environment so it might be time for a freshen up while everything is out. We’ll see, don’t have a solid plan just yet.
Stay tuned, more to come in the coming weeks.
So... started making some progress toward getting this car back together. Of course it has to get taken apart first.
It really sucks that it sat for so long and I am upset with myself for not doing a better job of protecting it while it sat uncovered in a non-climate controlled garage for five years. Guess this is where the fable of the reconstruction begins.
Made a drive train dolly the other day to take everything out as one. I’ve been wanting to make one of these things for a while. It’s basically 2” square tubing welded together with my Hobart 190 mig.
In a way, fabricating this contraption was almost easier than fighting with the headers trying to get them out. And I will say even with a lift it’s still easier to get the engine out this way. I could take the trans out easily enough but then I’d have to have something in place to hold the back of the motor up until it’s hoisted out with a crane but that adds another step and another tool.
Obviously you wouldn’t do this with a car that just needed engine or trans work since the T-bars need to come out and the brakes, steering column, speedo cable, shifter and upper control arms get disconnected. That’s a lot of extra work to create just to pull a motor out.
Made a little time lapse video of the extraction. Yeah, forgot to unbolt the front k frame support and ended up bending the lower radiator support a little but not a big deal, will go right back into shape. Doh!
In other news, some new trinkets are supposed to be arriving soon, will be sure to give an update on those things when the time comes. Mostly undercarriage-related parts for now.
Now that the drive train is out it’s really obvious how grubby the bottom of the car is. There is literally 50 years of road grime covering everything. I hadn’t really planned on doing any body restoration stuff but man, the underside of this car is pretty crusty. Not a big fan of working in that type of environment so it might be time for a freshen up while everything is out. We’ll see, don’t have a solid plan just yet.
Stay tuned, more to come in the coming weeks.
