RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
I'm gonna move the pics of hardware & the flasher discussion over to my post so I don't clutter your post up any more!
You can't save 'em all
- Thread starter Dr.Jass
- Start date
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Heh. It's just a thread about destroying a car. Pertinence isn't of the utmost importance.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Did you know today is International Reciprocating Saw Day?!
It's not. Unless you're me.
Throttle cable clips can be so fussy. It's much easier to just extend the hole you made to fetch the master cylinder plate, then work on the clip on the roof of the car.
It turned out the deck filler panel is virtually flawless--nothing short of a miracle--so I decided to keep it.
There were way too many spot welds to free it from all the brackets, and that would've required contortions to which I refuse to subject myself. Besides, someone might want the trunk hinges and brackets, so I made an El Chall-meeno:
The headliner even makes a nice mock-up for a back window.
Just you wait and see. It'll be all the rage on Rodeo Drive.
Getting the trunk hinges and their welded-in brackets, along with the filler neck, was significantly eased by a few strategic cuts to the quarter panels and bending the flaps out of the way. I also found the original bumper-jack retaining spring after cutting the driver's side and pulling it away from the car. I'm not 100% sure why I bent these back, but I did.
I don't think I'll worry about saving the gas tank. While attempting to cut the passenger's side strap, the vibrations caused the mount at the front to crumble into rust flakes. The J-bolt is still in the strap, which barely has a kerf in it. It looks like that rust hole has nice, straight edges, but that's actually the factory silencer pad. Even stuff that can't rust is rusty on this creature.
The upper tie bar for the core support was OK, so I threw it on the pile after freeing it from its captor neighbors.
Not much left to do now beyond the suspension. Column, headliner bows (which are fighting me), and... well, I can't think of anything else. I pulled the remaining heater ducts, parking-brake pedals, and other miscellany off last night.
It's not. Unless you're me.
Throttle cable clips can be so fussy. It's much easier to just extend the hole you made to fetch the master cylinder plate, then work on the clip on the roof of the car.
It turned out the deck filler panel is virtually flawless--nothing short of a miracle--so I decided to keep it.
There were way too many spot welds to free it from all the brackets, and that would've required contortions to which I refuse to subject myself. Besides, someone might want the trunk hinges and brackets, so I made an El Chall-meeno:
The headliner even makes a nice mock-up for a back window.
Just you wait and see. It'll be all the rage on Rodeo Drive.
Getting the trunk hinges and their welded-in brackets, along with the filler neck, was significantly eased by a few strategic cuts to the quarter panels and bending the flaps out of the way. I also found the original bumper-jack retaining spring after cutting the driver's side and pulling it away from the car. I'm not 100% sure why I bent these back, but I did.
I don't think I'll worry about saving the gas tank. While attempting to cut the passenger's side strap, the vibrations caused the mount at the front to crumble into rust flakes. The J-bolt is still in the strap, which barely has a kerf in it. It looks like that rust hole has nice, straight edges, but that's actually the factory silencer pad. Even stuff that can't rust is rusty on this creature.
The upper tie bar for the core support was OK, so I threw it on the pile after freeing it from its captor neighbors.
Not much left to do now beyond the suspension. Column, headliner bows (which are fighting me), and... well, I can't think of anything else. I pulled the remaining heater ducts, parking-brake pedals, and other miscellany off last night.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I accomplished quite a bit in a couple of hours this afternoon. A customer offered me the use of his trailer to dismantle the car the rest of the way so it wouldn't have to be dragged onto a trailer or cut up whilst sitting on the ground, so I accepted. He was even gracious enough to bring the trailer here and help me load the car. I don't want to be a pain by tying up his trailer for too long, so I started at 'er before he was even out of the alley.
The first order of business was the seatbelts. This went quickly, since there were only four bolts retaining four seatbelts, despite the front-seat 3-point belts requiring three bolts each.
Next on the list was the rear axle. There was nothing worth saving suspension-wise since the springs were shot and one of the shackles was severely bent. Everything was rusty as hell, of course, but a complete E-body 489-case 8.75" is definitely worth keeping, even with a 2.76 open. One of the brakes was rusty inside to the point of small component failure, which the axle itself stopped by blowing an axle seal and leaking gear oil over all the rusted parts. A weird sequence of events, but thank goodness it happened.
Someone absolutely did not want to put new leaf springs in this car. Not only did they install coilover shocks, they installed those stupid twist-in spring spreaders in the shock coils (red circle, two visible) as if that was going to help things. It's a fun study in contrasts between prior owners: One took so much time and diligence painting it purple, while another hacked no end of components rather than make a simple repair the right way.
Also note that the driver's side coil mount at the bottom of the shock had broken free, hence it's resting right on the trailer deck. There was no shock nut on this side, and the coil was the only thing holding the bushing washer in place.
I thought it was going to be a fight, but it pried right apart with the wrecking bar.
Imagine my suprise when I cut through the driver's-side U-bolts and the spring fell off. The forward spring eye was broken; almost the entire eye is still wrapped around the bushing and the bolt's still in place (visible below the leaf itself at the front). It's hard to tell in the photo, even zoomed, but the broken end of the main leaf is just barely visible in that hole.
With the wheel/tire and drum out of the way, I found more previously-unphotographed (or indeed really seen) frame-rail carnage:
This massive cut facilitated the removal of the transmission crossmember, a bit of labor I can't believe I didn't do when the car was on the hoist last fall to remove the engine. During this cut, I discovered that most of the driver's floor was actually plastic sheeting and tar. Seriously. You can see some of it on either sides of the hole. How I missed both torsion bars on this cut, I'll never know. I stopped just short on both sides without consciously doing so.
Yes, the column is still in place but I disconnected it at the rag joint, the location (and very existence) of leads me to believe it's a '74-'79 B-body floor-shift column. It's pretty hammered, but the important floor-shift pieces are present and in good condition, i.e. sellable.
Not a lot left to do, although the front suspension poses a bit of an issue. One of the torsion-bar adjuster bolts is missing its head, either rusted off or broken long, long ago. There's no way of removing tension from that T-bar, although I may cut the rear anchor free. I may just cut the bar, though--they're nothing special, and I have better (Hemi) spares lying around.
It's lookin' more like a Campbell's soup can every day.
The first order of business was the seatbelts. This went quickly, since there were only four bolts retaining four seatbelts, despite the front-seat 3-point belts requiring three bolts each.
Next on the list was the rear axle. There was nothing worth saving suspension-wise since the springs were shot and one of the shackles was severely bent. Everything was rusty as hell, of course, but a complete E-body 489-case 8.75" is definitely worth keeping, even with a 2.76 open. One of the brakes was rusty inside to the point of small component failure, which the axle itself stopped by blowing an axle seal and leaking gear oil over all the rusted parts. A weird sequence of events, but thank goodness it happened.
Someone absolutely did not want to put new leaf springs in this car. Not only did they install coilover shocks, they installed those stupid twist-in spring spreaders in the shock coils (red circle, two visible) as if that was going to help things. It's a fun study in contrasts between prior owners: One took so much time and diligence painting it purple, while another hacked no end of components rather than make a simple repair the right way.
Also note that the driver's side coil mount at the bottom of the shock had broken free, hence it's resting right on the trailer deck. There was no shock nut on this side, and the coil was the only thing holding the bushing washer in place.
I thought it was going to be a fight, but it pried right apart with the wrecking bar.Imagine my suprise when I cut through the driver's-side U-bolts and the spring fell off. The forward spring eye was broken; almost the entire eye is still wrapped around the bushing and the bolt's still in place (visible below the leaf itself at the front). It's hard to tell in the photo, even zoomed, but the broken end of the main leaf is just barely visible in that hole.
With the wheel/tire and drum out of the way, I found more previously-unphotographed (or indeed really seen) frame-rail carnage:
This massive cut facilitated the removal of the transmission crossmember, a bit of labor I can't believe I didn't do when the car was on the hoist last fall to remove the engine. During this cut, I discovered that most of the driver's floor was actually plastic sheeting and tar. Seriously. You can see some of it on either sides of the hole. How I missed both torsion bars on this cut, I'll never know. I stopped just short on both sides without consciously doing so.
Yes, the column is still in place but I disconnected it at the rag joint, the location (and very existence) of leads me to believe it's a '74-'79 B-body floor-shift column. It's pretty hammered, but the important floor-shift pieces are present and in good condition, i.e. sellable.
Not a lot left to do, although the front suspension poses a bit of an issue. One of the torsion-bar adjuster bolts is missing its head, either rusted off or broken long, long ago. There's no way of removing tension from that T-bar, although I may cut the rear anchor free. I may just cut the bar, though--they're nothing special, and I have better (Hemi) spares lying around.
It's lookin' more like a Campbell's soup can every day.
A pound of butter and you’ve got a croissant to rival the best in all of France.Speaking of body work, this is my absolute favorite part of this car. It represents the treatment this car got late in life by Flying Jerry and potentially those after him. I found it in the trunk, and as far as I can tell at one point it was the lower driver's quarter panel behind the wheel. Check out the craftsmanship:
View attachment 28165
View attachment 28166
View attachment 28167
View attachment 28168
View attachment 28169
There are at least two, possibly as many as four layers of metal in there, not including the hardware cloth (mesh). The garbage can lid gives a good idea of scale. It's a couple of inches thick and has to weigh a couple of pounds. If I could, I'd encase this sucker in a solid block of acrylic. You just don't find this kind of proud artisan anymore.
I really wish I'd have shown it to John when he was here. Instead, I'll post it here to terrorize @restoman.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were washed out due to much-needed rain so no butchery could be done, but I've been busy since. Sunday was spent pulling various small parts about which I'd forgotten or didn't consider previously. I removed the remaining vent parts and set about disassembling the front suspension as much as rust would allow.
With the broken torsion-bar adjuster bolt, I decided to just cut the floor and frame rail around the rear anchors. I made the initial cuts with a cutoff wheel, since its radius wasn't large enough to score the bars themselves. I used the Sawzall to get through the T-bar crossmember. The suspension was at full droop, but it still got exciting when the anchor parts of the rail were finally free. There was still a lot of tension in those bars. I knew this would be the case so the cuts were made strategically--the last cuts were the ones closest to the transmission tunnel, so that when they sprang, the crossmember pieces wouldn't pinch the frame.
When it came to the shocks, I went with the tried-and-true "deep socket and extension, bend back and forth until the stud breaks" trick up top. The lower bolts came out easily, and once the driver's side shock was out I wasn't surprised to find oil leaking from a rust hole. I was shocked that I was able to easily remove three of the four upper control-arm cam bolts, but the fourth was what I'd expected of the lot. The bolt's rusted solid in the bushing and I twisted the bolt in half trying to loosen it. I wasn't going to fight with it, so once again I called in the Sawzall. Very little actual cutting needed to be done, almost all of it on the inner fender. Once I got the control arm free, it was evident as to why:
No, the rest of the frame rail is not still bolted to the K-member. It simply didn't exist. The bolt is still in the K, but the only part of the frame attached to it is the threaded plate that was once welded inside the rail. There was no rail proper--if you look at the left side of that gaping maw where the frame once was, you can see there is no cut metal over there. The other three K-member mounting bolts came out nicely. The brake lines were already cut and I'd previously separated the column's rag joint, so I just lowered it out with the floor jack. A bit of crowbar persuasion was needed to get the T-bar anchors/crossmember pieces free of the floor, but once done it rolled out on the jack. I just flipped it off the trailer, then dollied it over to the storage area.
Yes, that's the headliner over the rear axle. It's strategically placed as it was in the car. That way I can remove and label the bows later regarding their orientation later.
Getting the jackstands out was a bit tricky. I couldn't quite lift the car enough to kick them out--I'm still nursing my back, and the car's still heavier than I expected. One side was easy enough with the floor jack, but the other side required a bit of trickery since the jack kept getting trapped. I finally resorted to a long section of treated 4x4 placed in a decidedly less-than-safe manner under the frame rail. "Tipsy" is a decent description; "Reckless shit like this is how people lose limbs" is perhaps a better one. That didn't work so I had to try that shit again, this time with the hood just far enough under the car to catch some frame rail. Having to deal with this hinky setup twice made me as nervous as a long-tailed church in a rocking chair full of hookers, or however that old cliche goes. It worked--the lumber rolled mostly out of the way but was pinched betwixt the jack wheel and the floor. Even when it did what I expected, it was nerve-wracking (I jumped when that board rolled). A couple of long-armed, head-way-in-the-other-direction hand-sledge whacks got everything free. Getting to keep the 4-by was a bonus. The hood was junk anyhow.
Monday night, I removed the column and inner quarter reinforcement plates that were used in '73 and '74 only. I'll probably sell parts of the column parts it's not E-body and the column itself is garbage. I now have more of pair of those plates than I have (remaining) Challengers. I then spent about an hour vacuuming up broken glass, mouse nest, and loose rust from the car and trailer. I didn't want that stuff getting blown all over the road while the car heads to the crusher, a trip which involves some highway time. My 5-gallon vacuum cyclone is completely full.
Last night was spent on the quarter-window regulators, which were a bit of a fight. I did the driver's side first, learning as I went, so the passenger's side should've gone more quickly. For some reason, I just could not get that one to clear the body on its way out the window slot. After a few minutes of this, I remembered that I'm junking the damned thing. I pried between the inner and outer corner with Ye Olde Wrecking Bar and made plenty of clearance. Out she came, and all the fasteners were reinstalled so I don't have a jigsaw puzzle later.
I thought I was finally done but this morning I remembered the coat hooks were still in it. I don't think I have the originals for my other '74, so I grabbed those this evening. That took all of two minutes.
Basta! Niet meer! Ich kündige! Tamam shud!
It was suggested that I sever the last foot or so of the car, cut the deck lid to match, install a spare set of taillamps, and make a Challenger rear-end wall-hanger for the garage. While it's mildly appealing, I'm sick of dealing with the tremendous rot and have no desire to go after shackles, leaf springs, and bumper mounts. I've been very lucky to not hurt my back and I'm ready to let all these cuts heal.
The owner of the trailer will cart the whole ensemble away on Saturday. I can't wait for it to be gone.
With the broken torsion-bar adjuster bolt, I decided to just cut the floor and frame rail around the rear anchors. I made the initial cuts with a cutoff wheel, since its radius wasn't large enough to score the bars themselves. I used the Sawzall to get through the T-bar crossmember. The suspension was at full droop, but it still got exciting when the anchor parts of the rail were finally free. There was still a lot of tension in those bars. I knew this would be the case so the cuts were made strategically--the last cuts were the ones closest to the transmission tunnel, so that when they sprang, the crossmember pieces wouldn't pinch the frame.
When it came to the shocks, I went with the tried-and-true "deep socket and extension, bend back and forth until the stud breaks" trick up top. The lower bolts came out easily, and once the driver's side shock was out I wasn't surprised to find oil leaking from a rust hole. I was shocked that I was able to easily remove three of the four upper control-arm cam bolts, but the fourth was what I'd expected of the lot. The bolt's rusted solid in the bushing and I twisted the bolt in half trying to loosen it. I wasn't going to fight with it, so once again I called in the Sawzall. Very little actual cutting needed to be done, almost all of it on the inner fender. Once I got the control arm free, it was evident as to why:
No, the rest of the frame rail is not still bolted to the K-member. It simply didn't exist. The bolt is still in the K, but the only part of the frame attached to it is the threaded plate that was once welded inside the rail. There was no rail proper--if you look at the left side of that gaping maw where the frame once was, you can see there is no cut metal over there. The other three K-member mounting bolts came out nicely. The brake lines were already cut and I'd previously separated the column's rag joint, so I just lowered it out with the floor jack. A bit of crowbar persuasion was needed to get the T-bar anchors/crossmember pieces free of the floor, but once done it rolled out on the jack. I just flipped it off the trailer, then dollied it over to the storage area.
Yes, that's the headliner over the rear axle. It's strategically placed as it was in the car. That way I can remove and label the bows later regarding their orientation later.
Getting the jackstands out was a bit tricky. I couldn't quite lift the car enough to kick them out--I'm still nursing my back, and the car's still heavier than I expected. One side was easy enough with the floor jack, but the other side required a bit of trickery since the jack kept getting trapped. I finally resorted to a long section of treated 4x4 placed in a decidedly less-than-safe manner under the frame rail. "Tipsy" is a decent description; "Reckless shit like this is how people lose limbs" is perhaps a better one. That didn't work so I had to try that shit again, this time with the hood just far enough under the car to catch some frame rail. Having to deal with this hinky setup twice made me as nervous as a long-tailed church in a rocking chair full of hookers, or however that old cliche goes. It worked--the lumber rolled mostly out of the way but was pinched betwixt the jack wheel and the floor. Even when it did what I expected, it was nerve-wracking (I jumped when that board rolled). A couple of long-armed, head-way-in-the-other-direction hand-sledge whacks got everything free. Getting to keep the 4-by was a bonus. The hood was junk anyhow.
Monday night, I removed the column and inner quarter reinforcement plates that were used in '73 and '74 only. I'll probably sell parts of the column parts it's not E-body and the column itself is garbage. I now have more of pair of those plates than I have (remaining) Challengers. I then spent about an hour vacuuming up broken glass, mouse nest, and loose rust from the car and trailer. I didn't want that stuff getting blown all over the road while the car heads to the crusher, a trip which involves some highway time. My 5-gallon vacuum cyclone is completely full.
Last night was spent on the quarter-window regulators, which were a bit of a fight. I did the driver's side first, learning as I went, so the passenger's side should've gone more quickly. For some reason, I just could not get that one to clear the body on its way out the window slot. After a few minutes of this, I remembered that I'm junking the damned thing. I pried between the inner and outer corner with Ye Olde Wrecking Bar and made plenty of clearance. Out she came, and all the fasteners were reinstalled so I don't have a jigsaw puzzle later.
I thought I was finally done but this morning I remembered the coat hooks were still in it. I don't think I have the originals for my other '74, so I grabbed those this evening. That took all of two minutes.
Basta! Niet meer! Ich kündige! Tamam shud!
It was suggested that I sever the last foot or so of the car, cut the deck lid to match, install a spare set of taillamps, and make a Challenger rear-end wall-hanger for the garage. While it's mildly appealing, I'm sick of dealing with the tremendous rot and have no desire to go after shackles, leaf springs, and bumper mounts. I've been very lucky to not hurt my back and I'm ready to let all these cuts heal.
The owner of the trailer will cart the whole ensemble away on Saturday. I can't wait for it to be gone.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
When I awoke yesterday, the car and trailer were still here. When I peeked on the way to the bathroom a couple of hours later, 'twas all gone. I never even heard him back there, which is unusual--normally I'll hear any vehicle door within a half-block radius. He's a pretty stealthy dude. I'm surprised he didn't come to the door, though.
Regardless, it's gone. Jass happy, neighbors undoubtedly relieved.
Regardless, it's gone. Jass happy, neighbors undoubtedly relieved.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
The fella who owns the trailer and hauled the car away just stopped by work. I'd told him I didn't want anything, just the car being gone was more than enough. Despite my insistence, he refused to take any money for gas or his time for getting rid of the car. Then he handed me the $90 the yard gave him for it. That's 30% of what I paid for the damned thing.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
That's a good friend. That will almost cover the shipping for most of my junk, so add it all up & you got a lot of e-body stuff for a couple hundred bucks, I'd call that a good day!
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Agreed. He's not even a friend, per se--he's a good customer with whom I get along quite well. We have a lot of fun when he stops in or calls, but we don't hang around outside work or anything. He's a good man, for sure, and I consider him a friend at this point.
By the time all's said and done, I can profit handsomely from that car--including what I've gotten from you. There are a lot of decent parts, and some very good parts that came from it. The '73-'74 disc-brake spindles are quite desirable, the rear axle's worth more than I paid for the car, the seats are good cores, etc. Believe it or not, the door hinges have pretty good core value, although these seem to be quite good. There's also a lot of small "detail" parts that were missing from my other '74 that I no longer need to find and buy. It's a total win-win situation.
Stretch couldn't believe what was left was worth $90... "There was nothing left of it. It was a rusty unibody and a hood!"
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Oh crap I scrapped a full ser of door hinges I bought off ebay many years ago (first car) I ended up just rebuilding the originals.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Don't feel too bad, we've all junked or destroyed stuff we wish we hadn't. Stretch, Kevin and I have great fun jabbing each other round-robin style for really valuable stuff--a factory-original AAR hood, a pair of rust-free '72 Charger Rallye doors, etc.--that we destroyed, crushed, or gave away because whomever had 'em either didn't recognize what they were, or didn't realize their rarity and/or value.
I once bought a rear spoiler off a friend's '71 Demon 340 parts car for $20. It fit that car so well it looked like it was born there, but it wasn't a Mopar part number. I hung onto it for a couple of years, then confirmed my growing suspicion about it when I worked at a GM dealer: It was an original 1969 Trans Am spoiler. My understanding is that the guy that originally hot-rodded that Demon got the spoiler out of a local junkyard during the '70s. I sold it for $400 to a Pontiac friend who more than doubled his investment within a month.
I once bought a rear spoiler off a friend's '71 Demon 340 parts car for $20. It fit that car so well it looked like it was born there, but it wasn't a Mopar part number. I hung onto it for a couple of years, then confirmed my growing suspicion about it when I worked at a GM dealer: It was an original 1969 Trans Am spoiler. My understanding is that the guy that originally hot-rodded that Demon got the spoiler out of a local junkyard during the '70s. I sold it for $400 to a Pontiac friend who more than doubled his investment within a month.
Last edited: