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Turbo Odyssey Part 6 -- Windshield Trim and Engine Removal
October 10 - November 14, 2004
In the last couple of weeks I've made steady progress on the dismantling of the convertible. One of the more challenging projects was removal of all the trim around the windshield. The dash is now completely out including the dash pad; doors have been stripped, with windows and regulators removed. The door weatherstrips went out in the trash last week.
Every now and then I have gotten a bit carried away working on polishing things that probably don't need to be polished...like the case of my wiper switch:
It's kind of like the backing plates for the headlights. No one will ever see these parts once the car is fully assembled, but I will know that they are nice, and that makes me happy. Kinda like the B-17 model I built years ago, with a fully detailed interior that is pretty much impossible to see. Making the thing was most of the fun.
I removed the wiper arms and wiper motor, and did battle with the antenna, which is now removed. In keeping with my goal of making this car part of a matched set with my 140 Corsa coupe, the antenna is going to move to the rear quarter panel as part of the body work.
While working on the car I have noticed numerous missing fasteners that the factory just ... forgot. I have heard complaints about late model build quality, but this is the first time I have really seen it. It's remarkable to me how much stuff just didn't get done.
This doesn't concern me greatly, as I can fix everything I have found so far. What pleases me is that the car seems to be remarkably sound. There is some rot behind the rear wheels in the back corners, and under the windshield. More significantly, while the left rocker is very solid, on the right side the drain hole was plugged and that rocker will need a fair amount of work
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However, every other part of this car is very solid and rust-free.
Last weekend, November 7, 2004, the car joined GROUP Red:
I pulled the carb and turbo assembly off the car. I also bought a heat shield from one of the vendors. This particular one had an extra sheet of shielding welded to the back. It's not really noticeable in the car, and I'm in favor of keeping the turbo plumbing hot and everything else cool, so I decided to keep it. I sandblasted the shielding and painted it black:
Here's the turbo and carb assembly outside of the car:
Once the car was up in the air, I turned one of the rear wheels and noticed that the opposite one turned in the same direction, so it appears as though I might have purchased a car equipped with Positraction.
Sunday afternoon I disconnected all of the topside connections and fuel lines. Last Tuesday night, I disconnected the clutch linkage, the accelerator rod, back-up light wiring, the strut rod inner brackets, and the inner U-joints, so that all that was left to remove was three bolts in the transmission crossmember and the two motor mount bolts. I got the motor supported with jacks and made sure each of those bolts was loose.
Wednesday night my son Seth's cub scout pack came over and each of the Webelos got to remove a bolt. Here are my budding mechanics, from left to right, Josh, Robert, Daniel and Seth:
Here the guys are at work:
Once the engine was unbolted, we lowered the motor out of the car. You could call this a four-kidpower Vair:
Today I started in on pulling the shrouding off the motor. The powertrain will go for rebuilding and a dummy powertrain will come back to hold the suspension together while the car goes for media blasting. There is a little disassembly left--kick panels, the windshield, a few engine compartment components--and the car will be ready to go for bodywork.