Here it sits stripped of its hardtop and lights.

I took off the rear fender flares and started the bondo and patch panel removal under the drivers door (sill). I plan on welding in some sheet steel replacements as it'll be easier. Will also look into replacement skins for the rear quarter panels.
Here are a few more shots. I may order new rear quarter skins from CCOT:

I’ll tell you, I’m impressed. Even with the rust holes, this steel is solid. They don’t make them like this anymore.

I’ve been trying different tools to remove the paint, filler and rust. The grinder was overkill, the drill with a 3m paint remover worked good but wore out quickly. My final try was my grinder with a knotted wire cup wheel. I was afraid it would remove metal as hard as the wire was, but it left a nice, smooth finish.

I’m no body man, but I think I will be gaining some experience over the next couple of months.

I’m going to continue to remove and bag component parts and work on the outer tub and fenders while mounted to the frame. Once complete, I’ll remove the tub and work on the underside while the frame goes off to the sand blasters. I’ll be using POR15 (or similar) to the underside of the tub, fenders and the frame.

1/26/08:
OK.. It’s been a little slow going. There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.
I took care of my heating issue in the garage. Friend lent me a 200K BTU kerosene turbo heater. Only takes 3 to 4 minutes to get it to 75 degrees. Bought a carbon monoxide detector just in case. I don’t like the smell of the kerosene, but I love the heat.

So, what have I got done? Got the windshield out and did some more grinding. The engine bay is about empty now. I had a local sheet metal shop bend me up some 20ga to replace the outer rocker panels. I’ll need to cut them to fit, but he did the bends. I got both sides, plus some extra sheet out the door for $22.00.

Here are the rocker panels I had bent. All I’ll need to do is trim them up, bend the sides and weld in place.

Looks like I’ll be putting off this repair until the tub is off the frame... See next photo.

After I cut the old rocker panel off, I realized there was a bit more cancer to take care of first. Once the tub is pulled, I’ll replace the tub and seat supports.

Seats are out and fuel tank is ready to be lifted out (as soon as I drain it). The tank looks fairly new. PO must have replaced it.

2/02/2008

Well, I removed what was left of the wiring harness today. Once I removed the hood vent, it came out easily. Here is a photo of my wire harness:

Other than a few of the connectors, the harness won’t be reused. I bought a harness from EZ Wiring. I’ll post photos of it later. I also bought a set of Packard Weather Pak connectors to go with the new harness.
Here is my current dash. Everything is now out (I forgot to take an end of day photo):

I want to do a little body work on the front left fender before I remove it. Once that is done, off comes the tub.

2/10/08:

Sill waiting on my body tools. All the body mount bolts have been removed. Just waiting on a little help to lift it off. Took the extra time to clean the garage and make room for the Engine, Transfer, Transmission and axles that I’m picking up on the 23rd. I’ll be taking the frame to the sandblasters on the 25th or 26th.

Here’s what the current view looks like. I did a little more work to the firewall and the cowl. I still may take the tub to the sand blasters too. Will wait and see after I get a few things welded up on it first.

More to come.... Stay tuned!

Bill Smith
kb3gun@verizon.net
All Rights Disturbed...