We had some unseasonably warm weather the last few days, so I rolled the car out on the driveway and scrubbed and degreased the front end. It took care of the bulk of the mess that was there, but everything is wet, so I need to let it sit and dry out for a little bit.
While I had the down time I went ahead and dropped the trans and started cleaning it up. What a mess! The gunk is half an inch thick in places. That should make this a whole lot nicer to install than it was to remove.
I also did some work on cleaning up some of the fasteners. There's some surface rust on most of the stuff, but little to no pitting, so I have been chemically treating the rust to dissolve it, then hitting it with a coat of rust converter When the parts dry completely, they have a very nice black-oxide coating and are ready for installation.
The last ting I have been working on is the center console. At this point, the console is done except for the ashtray and the two metal supports that mount to the floor. When I finish the ashtray I will post some pictures of the big reveal. It looks great! I had some damage to repair which was completed, but I also had to do some work at the front glove box since it was hitting the front ashtray when you opened it. I had to elongate the holes in the hinge to reposition it roughly 1/8", but it was just enough.
Before I begin pulling the rest of the front end of the car, I checked the suspension and found at leas one ball joint is bad, so I ordered up a bunch of parts to rebuild the control arms. The arms themselves look good, so there shouldn't be any issues. Probably best to start out with all new and get it done now rather than have to come back in and do it later anyhow.
Pictures to come...
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