Tearing down the front end

Got the car back in the garage as planned, and glad I did. It's been snowing a very wet snow all day, and the dew wipes and weatherstripping are shot. Also, as planned, I started to disassemble the front end of the wagon last night. I'm finding that I need to be a bit of a contortionist to access some of the bolts. Not all parts bolts were fasted with J-bolts, so I'm having to get both a socket and a wrench on them at the same time. Took a little creativity, but the worst (I hope) is done. Thank goodness this car is as clean as it is. Even with a little bit of rust, some of the fasteners were putting up a pretty good fight. Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures of the car prior to disassembling the front end. Not the damaged front right grill and fender extension, and the left fender that will be replaced.

And in the engine compartment ...

And finally the "custom" welded in frame mounts.

I purchased some '69 429 T-Bird mounts that I was told could be modified to work, so I will have to see what I can do to make them work. I may do a bit of a tutorial on them if I can make them work elegantly. My plan is to fit the engine while the front end is off the car. Since I will be pulling the radiator support, it should help to simplify the process of working things out since I'm sure the motor will be in and out a few times at least.

I also plan on trying to clean up the wires and hoses some. What a mess! Right now the fuel line and fuel pump are just laying along that side. I may try to bring the fuel in from the back of the motor rather than the front to help keep things tidy. Will post more pics of progress in a couple of days.