All right so after some issues with door alignment, I got the driver side inner and outer rockers welded in.
I intended on cutting out and replacing the rear subframe mounts while I had access, but they seemed solid so I opted to clean up the rust and paint them instead. I was also still a little scared to have alignment issues after the doors. I’ll spray some cavity wax in there too for good measure.
so here’s what I started with:
With the motor out I was ready to start cutting out rust. I started with the floor pan so I could get the frame rail fully mounted, then I moved to the fire wall and inner fender, and then the drivers A piller and new rockers.
I found some angle iron screwed to the inner sill. This was the first of many sketchy repairs I found.
I got what was left of the old floor cut out and fit the new floor. It went in pretty easy but it’s sitting really high compared to the old one now,
I started the tear down and figuring out how to pull the motor. The nose panel was smashed and needed to be removed anyway, so I decided to slide the motor and trans together straight out the front. To my surprise this actually worked out pretty well.
This is what I was greeted with after pulling the nose. Part of the frame came off with it. Then I started labeling wiring and tossing the emissions stuff I won’t need. Then I got the drive shaft and exhaust disconnected.
After
I decided to take on my very first restoration, and I just so happened to discover 2002’s this year. So the search on fb marketplace began and one popped up that was in my budget. I was all to excited to find one I could afford, and it was running and somewhat drivable. The idea was to have a driver I could work on and enjoy driving at the same time, but those dreams were quickly squashed. I neglected to really dig into how bad the rust was, and it turned out to be really, really bad. I hav
