<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 6 -- Windshield Trim and Engine Removal

[Norman C. Witte]

This post may be viewed online at www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/6.htm

October 10 - November 14, 2004

In the last couple of weeks I've made steady progress on the dismantling of
the convertible.  One of the more challenging projects was removal of all
the trim around the windshield.  The dash is now completely out including
the dash pad; doors have been stripped, with windows and regulators removed.
The door weatherstrips went out in the trash last week.

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3944.JPG

  Every now and then I have gotten a bit carried away working on polishing
things that probably don't need to be polished...like the case of my wiper
switch:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3962.JPG

It's kind of like the backing plates for the headlights.  No one will ever
see these parts once the car is fully assembled, but I will know that they
are nice, and that makes me happy.  Kinda like the B-17 model I built years
ago, with a fully detailed interior that is pretty much impossible to see.
Making the thing was most of the fun.

I removed the wiper arms and wiper motor, and did battle with the antenna,
which is now removed.  In keeping with my goal of making this car part of a
matched set with my 140 Corsa coupe, the antenna is going to move to the
rear quarter panel as part of the body work.

While working on the car I have noticed numerous missing fasteners that the
factory just ... forgot.  I have heard complaints about late model build
quality, but this is the first time I have really seen it.  It's remarkable
to me how much stuff just didn't get done.

This doesn't concern me greatly, as I can fix everything I have found so
far.  What pleases me is that the car seems to be remarkably sound.  There
is some rot behind the rear wheels in the back corners, and under the
windshield.  More significantly, while the left rocker is very solid, on the
right side the drain hole was plugged and that rocker will need a fair
amount of work.

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3949.JPG

However, every other part of this car is very solid and rust-free.

Last weekend, November 7, 2004, the car joined Group Red:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3994.JPG

I pulled the carb and turbo assembly off the car.  I also bought a heat
shield from one of the vendors.  This particular one had an extra sheet of
shielding welded to the back.  It's not really noticeable in the car, and
I'm in favor of keeping the turbo plumbing hot and everything else cool, so
I decided to keep it.  I sandblasted the shielding and painted it black:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3961.JPG

Here's the turbo and carb assembly outside of the car:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_3995.JPG

Once the car was up in the air, I turned one of the rear wheels and noticed
that the opposite one turned in the same direction, so it appears as though
I might have purchased a car equipped with Positraction.

Sunday afternoon I disconnected all of the topside connections and fuel
lines.  Last Tuesday night, I disconnected the clutch linkage, the
accelerator rod, back-up light wiring, the strut rod inner brackets, and the
inner U-joints, so that all that was left to remove was three bolts in the
transmission crossmember and the two motor mount bolts.  I got the motor
supported with jacks and made sure each of those bolts was loose.

Wednesday night my son Seth's cub scout pack came over and each of the
Webelos got to remove a bolt.  Here are my budding mechanics, from left to
right, Josh, Robert,  Daniel and Seth:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4049.JPG

Here the guys are at work:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4043.JPG

Once the engine was unbolted, we lowered the motor out of the car.  You
could call this a four-kidpower Vair:

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4051.JPG

Today I started in on pulling the shrouding off the motor.  The powertrain
will go for rebuilding and a dummy powertrain will come back to hold the
suspension together while the car goes for media blasting.  There is a
little disassembly left--kick panels, the windshield, a few engine
compartment components--and the car will be ready to go for bodywork.

More updates to follow.

Norm Witte