Date (Time) Tasks === Total time: 61.25 hours as of 9/30/03
9/19/02 (5.0) Changed oil and plugs, checked starter to see if it was loose, it wasn't. Tried to spray some WD-40 into the cylinders for a bit of startup protection, thought I accidentally shot the red tube into cylinder 1. Spent several frantic minutes with a wire coat hanger with a thick coating of double-sided tape at the end trying to fish it out until I saw it sitting on the K-member. Ran it for a while and drove around the block, ignition key not working to start for some reason. Running very rough and coughing a lot of smoke. (hasn't been driven or started since April of 1996)
9/23/02 (2.0) Emptied out the trunk, sprayed some rust fix in trunk to help out with the surface rust. Also closed all the drain openings to keep out rodents. Large area of rust where trunk pan meets tail light panel.
9/25/02 (3.0) Removed windshield bright trim, sprayed some more rust fix in trunk. Probably need to wire brush it to make the rust fix work better.
9/30/02 (3.0) Removed rear window bright trim and vinyl top lower trim retainers which I thought held in the drip moldings but they don't. Repaired a few small rust bubbles on the rear cowl and front fender. Brushed them, then applied rust fix, primer then paint.
10/2/02 (2.0) Began working on drip molding. Removed window weatherstrip and drivers rear window seal. Next step is to unscrew weatherstrip channel in order to remove drip molding. Also, should remove interior to prevent further nesting.
10/4/02 (1.0) Tried cleaning front bumper, it may not need to be re-chromed. The back on definitely will, but the front one seems to be ok, at least until the rest of the car is perfect.
10/5/02 (5.0) No, the front bumper is shot too. It's easy to see in sunlight. Removed the window seals, window chanels, and drip rails. Pulled off the entire vinyl roof except for small bits and pieces around the windows. The rust under the roof is suprisingly minimal, pretty much what was visible in bubbles before. I'm starting to get a better feeling overall about the project, it's not nearly as bad rust-wise as I was afraid. In fact, it's always been a pretty solid car. Probably only been driven about 10 years out of 28. That explains the low mileage.
10/6/02 (5.0) Removed entire interior except for front seats, dash and carpet. Car is running exceptionally well aside from the smell, needs cap, rotor and wires most likely. Also need to hook up PCV intake hose.
10/9/02 (3.5) Removed front seats in order to take out carpet. There is some surface rust and of course the hole in the drivers floor pan, but not too bad otherwise. Also removed the rocker moldings and the rear bumper. Next steps should be to remove the front bumper and possibly the fenders and maybe the hood. The wheel well moldings will most likely need to be drilled off as they are totally welded on. Also will remove the rear bumper brackets and the filler panels. That will be just about it.
10/11/02 (1.0) Removed the rear speakers, stripped remaining vinyl top pieces from around the windows.
10/15/02 (1.0) Tried to remove the rear bumper filler panels, the screws are rusted on. Sprayed WD40 on all of them on both sides. Removed the tail lights, trunk lock cover, trunk latch, striker plate, 'Cuda emblem.
10/16/02 (3.0) Removed the left rear bumper bracket and the entire bumper filler. There was an obstructed screw on the right piece, I had to grind the head off and pry the panel off. Getting the bumper bracket off was a pain too, there's not a lot of room to work on the outside bolt and I ended up spinning it on the bracket, so I had to use channel loks. Took quite a while. Also wire brushed all of the rust under the bumper area and coated it with rust fix. There is a hole in the left corner next to the quarter panel. This whole area is pretty bad and I should probably try to find a new tail light panel as there are pinholes around all the lights. Everything else should be pretty easy to fabricate as it is all straight and also unseen once the bumper is installed.
10/17/02 (1.0) Shuffled some parts around, didn't do too much on the car.
10/18/02 (1.0) Removed the right rear bumper bracket. Marked as "pass" with arrows pointing up and out. The configuration is as follows: brackets must be angled upwards, with the short extension to the outside and the long extension to the inside. They are not interchangeable. drivers side => -.__/- -\_.- <=passenger side. Next steps: remove muffler heat shields, unknown rear frame brackets, front bumper, front bumper supports, front gravel pan, grille, front header panel, fenders, fender brackets, hood latch support, mufflers, gas tank (run out of gas first), window corner rubber, cowl grilles, hood weatherstripping. Also remove tail light harness and seatbelt harness.
10/19/02 (6.0) Removed headlight bezels, front gravel pan/lower grille assembly, front bumper and grille in that order. Headlight bezels only had a few of the eight screws that were supposed to be there. The front gravel pan has a myriad of screws and it is a support for the fenders which now wave freely. The front bumper was a huge pain because I tried to remove it from the brackets while they were on the car, like I did the rear. This was a mistake because the bolts holding the brackets on are actually very easy to unbolt. Three very large but very easy ones on each side. After struggling with the other way for at least two hours, I had the bumper and brackets off as an assembly within ten minutes. I finished loosening the bumper as I sat under it in the middle so I could catch it when it came loose. I figured it would be heavier than the rear bumper, that it was. Once I caught it in my lap, I couldn't move very well and I was kind of stuck. I ended up inching my way out and finally was able to stand it on the ends of the bumper brackets and stand up. It must weigh nearly 100 pounds. Once the bumper was off, the grill came right out.
10/20/02 (1.0) Removed the muffler brackets and several bolts from the heat shields.
10/21/02 (1.0) Removed front header panel and headlight buckets.
10/23/02 (6.0) Removed muffler heat shields, unknown rear frame brackets, over-axle tailpipe brackets, front fenders, and the inner fender splash shields. There is more rust on the passenger side rocker that was hidden by the fender, but not too extensive. It will need to be cut out. Lots of surface rust under the fenders, I scraped it all down and sprayed rust fix to prevent further rusting.
6/3/2003 (0.0) Well, this is the day I was supposed to drop the car off at Stowe Auto Body to have it soda blasted, body work done, and epoxy primed. Thanks to our wonderful economy, I have no money left, so I've changed the appointment to 12/3/2003. Hopefully I'll have some cash by then.
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Definitely some work inbetween here that I didn't log and forgot.
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9/20/03 (3.0) Ran it out of gas, started fishing out talilight harness.
9/24/03 (2.0) Continued working on the dashboard. This is not a fun job. Probably the easiest way to put it back in once the heater core is in is to just drop it in and bolt it up, and work from the underside.
9/25/03 (1.5) Finished removing the dashboard. What a total pain. Had to snip one wire, possibly the one to the fan motor. I hope I can get it back together right when it's time.
9/27/03 (2.0) Removed the heater core and all other dashboard items. Had to drain radiator, but the core came out with just 4 nuts and a strap inside the car.
9/28/03 (1.0) Started working on disconnecting engine. Got out the alternator and some of the wiring. 9/29/03 (2.25) Continued on engine. Removed all of the firewall electrical components, engine wiring harness, wiper motor, drivers fender relays, battery, all but two header nuts.
12/3/03 (0.0) Drop-off day for body work and paint. Lots of work to do before then...
Next steps: (43.15 approximate time)
-hood latch support (.25)
-radiator (.5)
-mufflers (2.0)
-headers (2.0)
-misc engine compartment fasteners (.5)
-labels and stickers (.5)
-vinyl top adhesive (4.0)
-body plugs (.5)
-gas tank (1.0)
-master cylinder (1.0)
-brake lines (4.0)
-proportioning valve (.5)
-fuel and return lines (2.0)
-front and rear sway bars (4.0)
-emergency brake system (2.0)
-hood weatherstripping (.1)
-trunk weatherstripping (.3)
-front and rear glass (2.0)
-seat (.1)
-seatbelt harness (.1)
-brake pedal (.5)
-hood release and speedo cables (.3)
-gas pedal (.3)
-shifter (.1)
-shifter linkage (.2)
-hood (.2)
-driveshaft (.5)
-transmission (2.0)
-engine (4.0)
-rear shocks (2.0)
-front shocks (2.0)
-tack on fenders (1.0)
-put extra body panels in car (.3)
-remove bumper brackets for blasting (2.0)
-place sway bars in car (.2)
-place drive shaft in car (.1)
-place subframe connectors in car (.1)
To contact me, please write to the following address WITHOUT THE DASHES: cuda-440@19-27.org
This is done to protect my e-mail address from harvest by automatic e-mail scammers.
© 2003 Mike - All rights reserved
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