I forgot to post the pictures of Jacob and I pulling the '37 out of the barn, so I'll add those here.
This is one of my favorites
One of the brakes is dragging on the '37, so pushing it is almost out of question. It BARELY rolls down hill, so Jacob hooked up his 4 wheeler he got for Christmas and pulled her outside
It took the winch on the front of my father's four wheeler and Jacob's four wheeler pushing from behind to get it up on the trailer, but we finally managed because we're both pretty cool dudes.
It's a short ride, but I've still gotta tie her down.
I don't think the '31 was too happy about her new temporary home. I covered her up so the barn cats wouldn't be too rough on her.
Well, today was the day I finally got to start on April's '37. Because the '57 had been immobile and on jack stands and we had to put April's engine and transmission in there I wasn't able to put things back where they went and the garage had gotten pretty cluttered. I started out the day cleaning everything and putting it in it's proper place. It felt really good to finally get things in a manageable location. There is a whole lot of stuff I have to cram into a relatively tiny garage so keeping things where they go is key to being able to find it when I need it and not pulling my hair out walking around a mess all the time.
Finally, it's all in order
Notice the cornhole boards April made me for my 30th birthday. I think they're pretty spiffy.
It took a couple tries to get backed up just right to where I wanted to be. I knew as difficult as this car is to roll where it landed is where it would stay. Also, I had to make sure I was far enough away from the garage so the back of the roof wouldn't hit the top of the garage.
That must be a Firestone Ford Explorer tire. I later realized I typed that but I'm actually using a Ford Explorer rear end, so that's actually not too funny.
I had to get somewhat creative with the come-along because one person can't push the car, let alone up hill.
And it's stuck
It needed a couple feet more so I had to entrust the job to my beloved Caprice
FINALLY, tucked away where it should be
I'm used to working on my cars, which I have become familiar with. I'm used to walking out and yanking parts off. This car was completely new to me so it took about 20 minutes to figure out how to get the hood off. The trouble is not knowing which parts are stuck on with age and need to be pried off or which parts aren't meant to come off. I finally got it, after carefully looking around and taking some parts off.
A truly memorable moment. First blood! That means this project has OFFICIALLY kicked off!
She was starting to look like an old dirt car racer in no time
Then suddenly she was starting to not look like a car anymore
Then I added the extra summertime ventilation option
Here's the old 216. I've never seen that much gunk on an engine before. I think it would break my biggest screwdriver to scrape that oil pan clean.
Good thing we're not reusing that manifold. When I went to unbolt it I found I only had to do half the work.
And here's a bunch of '37 parts
When April got home she was super excited to see her car in the garage and beginning to get worked on. She said that the grill assembly looked like a bug head. I think she's right.
As you can see, the barn cats have made a landing pad out of the car from the barn loft.
That's all I was able to get done today. I hope to be able to get the engine out Friday, but we'll see how it goes.
