68 Polara disassembly

[bigbadsubaru]

Once I actually get my garage space, of course! But I want to strip the car down so I can undercoat it and paint the body parts, and clean up and paint the suspension and such. Any tips for doing so? I have a factory service manual buried in a box somewhere so I guess I could always consult that.. What I plan on doing:

Pull engine and transmission (Engine is rebuilt, but the paint on it rusted from sitting outside, plus it's the wrong Chrysler Blue for 68)

Drop rear axle and drive shaft

Unbolt front clip and remove subframe

Pull dash

I plan on cleaning everything up, painting all the suspension parts, replacing all the bushings and brake hardware, cleaning up all the wiring connectors and packing connections with dielectric grease, replacing the damaged door and fender (I have the parts, just never put them on!), and from there it's just a matter of finishing the body work, painting, reassembling everything, and then it just needs a top and interior Wish I could find a hardtop for interior parts, but unless I came across a wrecked one I'd probably just fix it up and have twinsies! Drop top for the summer and hard top for the winter

 

[My three 67 Polaras]

A needle scaler works good for knocking off a lot of the loose seam sealer, undercoating, and paint underneath. What stays can be coated over with no guilt. It leaves a textured surface the paint adheres to well. It can work around irregular items such as bolt heads and steps in the material. Ingersoll makes a good one, I have had mine for years and used it under my Polara. Learned it from watching Dirty Jobs. Disclaimer: The noise it makes will definitely anger spouses and neighbors.

 

[bigbadsubaru]

Thanks for the tip Thankfully the garage is all concrete block, isn't directly accessible from the house (It's attached, but there's no door directly from the house to the garage) and the neighbors are far enough away it probably won't matter too much I'll have to see if I can hunt one down!