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Re: Back to Work on the '59 Two Door Wagon; Rust, Fearsome Cr...

From: Kenny J.
Email: [email protected]
Remote Name: 63.191.8.241
Date: September 01, 2003

Comments

Thanks, for the input, George. Good advice. I planned to redo the front end, steering and brakes while the engine is out and the sheet metal is removed. The car is a stick, so I was planning to pull the tranny and then remove the bellhousing, clutch assembly and flywheel after I pull the engine and set it in a cradle. I've pulled a number of later Mopar & GM engines with automatics. I've tried removing the transmission separately and also removing it with the engine and separating them later. Either way, unbolting the flexplate/ flywheel is never fun. The easiest automatic removal I ever attempted was an A-904 from an LA 318. The worst was a cast iron Powerglide from a 235 Chevy six. Weight was the major factor. The Poly 318 just looks so unwieldy perched between the frame rails with nothing enclosing it. I suppose it won't be any worse than either a B/RB or LA once the heads are removed. I forgot about scorpions. We have them in neighborhood on the outskirts of town. They usually aren't found hiding in cars, but I've heard of them living in salvage yard cars that have been sitting for years. What amazes me about the widows is how fast they take over a car if it sits for just a week. My favorite black widow story involves my '66 Chevy pick up. Shortly after buying it (the truck had sat for nearly a year), I found a huge widow between the cowl and the passenger door. Her young ones had just hatched and were taking over everything between the door and the center of the dash. After cleaning that up, I started the engine and wanted to check the timing, etc. As the engine reached operating temperature, a huge widow came running out from under the A/C compressor bracket and dove onto the timing light. I almost dropped the gun! The critter dropped down to driveway and had a brief encounter with the bottom of my shoe.

 


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