Up it goes

Finally it is time to lift to body off the frame for the first time in 43 years. As I mentioned previously the car's assembly date was Friday, June 17th, 1966. Lyndon Johnson was in office and I was not yet born.....but close!

Depite my father-in-law slipping into the pic it was a success. A few things to remember for the next time. GO SLOW. There are always more connections than you think :-( ...... I will explain later. The other mistake I made is that I originally had the car backed in. It proved impossible to pull the chassis out the front because of the height of the tank. When I lowered the body the shifter caught on the rubber boot. It pulled the console out of the transmission tunnel resulting in a bit of damage. Am I embarrased?.....um yeah.. However, that is the point of doing this myself. It is a challange. Besides....everything can be fixed. It only takes time and money.

You can see in the pictures that the engine had undergone a cosmetic resto by the PO. This time it will be done correctly and completely. Still trying to decide whether it will be re-configured as a 327/350 vs. the 327/300 as it left the factory.

The frame looks pretty solid from a corrosion standpoint. There are a couple of dents on the underside about where the front door meets the front fender....both sides. My guess is that someone jumped a curb and hung it up in the process....Another job for the professionals!

Lastly, the mortal remains of what appeared to be the tape used to hold the body shims in place was found on the passenger side body mount just in front of the rear wheel. Why I think that is so cool I have no idea.....but it is!

Next up: Chassis disassembly