Roof came off easy, spent some time cleaning, treating and priming the top surface, wont actually fit the new roof until I have painted the interior, weather is very poor here so not got that done yet -
New gearbox and transfer box arrived, things of beauty -
They are both beefed up with a larger torque converter and some stronger internal gears from the 4HP24.
At last a completely bare chassis, just need to figure out how to flip it over now to work on the underside -
When I lowered the rear axle both springs just fell off, the saddles are completely rotted through. I cant believe I drove this car home over 200 miles, if I had gone over a large bump in the road the springs would have fallen off. Anyway replacement saddles ordered just need to weld them on.
I am pleased to get to this point, it means that from now on it is all cleaning, prepping, painting and assembly. No more dealing with stuff like this -
No more rusted solid or mangled fixings to deal with which I have had my fair share of. The swivels gave me some grief, somebody had shredded two of the axle casing bolts on the drivers side and one on the passenger. They gave up and replaced the swivel seal by cutting it, feeding it in place and using some black goo to seal the gap. I used a power file to grind flats on either side of the head of the bolt then heat and a pair of stillsons shifted them eventually.
Anyway everything is free now and any broken bolts removed. In addition everything in terms of diffs, half shafts, CV joints etc are all in excellent condition although I will replace the swivels themselves.
Next up is to get the chassis finished then start work on the axle casings and other suspension components