Frame-work

Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning up my frame and doing a bit of body work. I bought some black, rubberized undercoating at AutoZone which is good for protecting everything under the vehicle and preventing rust. Before I could apply the undercoating, however, I needed to remove all of the dirt and rust from the surface of the frame.



This was not an enjoyable process. It took a few hours and required me to be under the vehicle a lot. By the time I was done, I was almost covered from head to toe with rust, dirt and dust.



With Dave's help I was able to remove the motor mounts. They are going to need to be repositioned for the new, longer 6-cylinder motor.





The driver's side floor and the front quarter panel were both pretty ravaged by rust, so they had to be cut out completely. I have two replacement panels ready to be welded in that I purchased online.






I am also going to be replacing the front shocks. When I tried to removed them the threaded bolts on top snapped off, so I now have no choice but to get new ones. They were old and rusty, so it probably makes sense to replace them anyway.





As you can see, the black undercoating really cleans up the frame and makes it look much better. In addition to making the frame look good, it will prevent rust from eating away at the metal when I drive on salty roads in the winter.





All of the components on the firewall that couldn't be removed have been masked off in preperation for painting.