The hard work begins

In late November 2004, I took the car to Ken's and began the final stage of the restoration. First the top and top frame were removed and stored away. Then came the rest of the demantling process.

First the fenders and hood, windshield and a lot of mechanical parts were removed, with all fasteners and small parts put in manila envelopes, labeled and filed in a box. Here are some photos showing the stages of that process.







Once those parts were removed, and the dash stripped of all instruments, knobs, etc. it was time to remove the body from the frame. Ken engineered a lifting brace and with doors closed to prevent body torqueing, up it came, high enough to slide the frame out from under. The body was then placed on a dolly and rolled to another part of the shop until all the chassis work is complete.





When we were done, we were left with a bare chassis, sans engine and transmission. The good news was that the frame is straight and solid - very dirty but no serious rust or damage. That was a relief.



Someone once put a trailer hitch on the rear cross brace, and the mid engine mount brace had been cut out to accommodate the 1940 engine, but former was easily welded up and for the latter, I had another brace that we could fit to the frame.

Next comes the clean up!