[Dave O]

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

Remind me again why you are taking this car apart?

I know! Really... makes me wonder too.

Being an engineer the urge to take something apart, see how it works, and reassemble it is strong. As a kid I used to take apart every mechanical device my dad would give me. Clocks did not fair well in the put back together so they worked department... I was not very good at taking notes for reassembly. I hope I am better at that now.

I've had the Carrera 3.0 for 33 years and there are some small signs of rust at the base of the targa bar, and the joints of the front fenders, and the paint is pretty shot (although it doesn't look that way in pics), and I always intended to 'restore' it at some point in my life, soooo.... I guess the time is now.... ....and I like the challenge. I was intimidated about this project for years but now that it is underway I am enjoying it.

I am very pleased that so far there is no structural rust. In fact I think the underside of the tub may be in good enough condition that just a cleaning will do the job, we'll see.

I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that after this is done that it should be good to go for the next 33 years.

[JmuRiz]

Originally Posted by Dave O

I know! Really... makes me wonder too.

Being an engineer the urge to take something apart, see how it works, and reassemble it is strong. As a kid I used to take apart every mechanical device my dad would give me. Clocks did not fair well in the put back together so they worked department... I was not very good at taking notes for reassembly. I hope I am better at that now.

I've had the Carrera 3.0 for 33 years and there are some small signs of rust at the base of the targa bar, and the joints of the front fenders, and the paint is pretty shot (although it doesn't look that way in pics), and I always intended to 'restore' it at some point in my life, soooo.... I guess the time is now.... ....and I like the challenge. I was intimidated about this project for years but now that it is underway I am enjoying it.

I am very pleased that so far there is no structural rust. In fact I think the underside of the tub may be in good enough condition that just a cleaning will do the job, we'll see.

I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that after this is done that it should be good to go for the next 33 years.

It does look very solid for such an early (pre-galvanized) car, lucky you!
I'm good at taking stuff apart and never putting it back together, therefore I'm jealous.
Best of luck on a cool build to follow

[Vicegrip]

I don't even wait for a reason sometimes. Voiding warrantees is a hobby and pastime in and of itself. My son has taken to collecting "No user serviceable parts inside" stickers and thinks his 50 piece security bit set as indispensable .

I still have some random bits from the same color 77 around including the glass. IIRC you got the front fenders.

Originally Posted by JmuRiz

It does look very solid for such an early (pre-galvanized) car, lucky you!
I'm good at taking stuff apart and never putting it back together, therefore I'm jealous.
Best of luck on a cool build to follow

77 is a zinc car. I bought a 77 body that had been sitting wide open no glass no deck lid no sunroof in the rain under a pine tree for 2 years. It was full of soggy pine mulch and rodent bones but rust free other a place where the windshield gasket rubbed the metal.

[Dave O]

Originally Posted by JmuRiz

It does look very solid for such an early (pre-galvanized) car, lucky you!

They went full galvanized in '76 I believe. I know that by '77 they were fully galvanized, lucky me...

[Dave O]

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

I don't even wait for a reason sometimes. Voiding warrantees is a hobby and pastime in and of itself. My son has taken to collecting "No user serviceable parts inside" stickers and thinks his 50 piece security bit set as indispensable .

I still have some random bits from the same color 77 around including the glass. IIRC you got the front fenders.

Yep, front fenders and door cards are in the garage attic awaiting use if needed. Got any thing left from that '77 you think I could use?

[86911TLCAB]

i am doing something similar to my SC, though not planning to send it out for paint. amazing what a good cleaning will do. once you get under the grime, you discover that it has survived with minor surface rust in a few places. I have some surface rust same place you did where the fender meets the body. I can only imagine a breakdown of the material which you put between those two which then allowed some water to get into that area.

once I put the fender back on am planning to run some additional sealant along the fender line before putting the gasket back into place. Any thoughts on an appropriate sealant?--I was thinking just some clear caulking would hold up ok and still be easily removed if I had to pull the fender again.

[Dave O]

Originally Posted by 86911TLCAB

once I put the fender back on am planning to run some additional sealant along the fender line before putting the gasket back into place. Any thoughts on an appropriate sealant?--I was thinking just some clear caulking would hold up ok and still be easily removed if I had to pull the fender again.

It looks like there is some sort of mastic caulk in the joint now. It obviously cannot hold up for 40 years. I'll research what is appropriate when the time comes. Since the metal will all be clean, epoxy primed and repainted, the fasteners will all be zinc plated, that area should be resistant to water causing rust for many, many, years. I hesitate to try to 'seal' something since once water does get in the sealant can actually prevent it from drying out.

[86911TLCAB]

what is on there is some butyl tape (thanks Engelbert)...roll can be had for about 25 bucks...maybe best not to use the additional sealant...hadn't thought about the water being unable to dry out...frankly for a 40 year old car a little surface rust is nothing to get to worried about.

[Dave O]

Had a short stint on it today. Disconnected the wiring harness for the doors and removed them both. (They are on furniture dollies). For future reference I should have done this first, before I put it on the lift and removed the fenders.

[Dave O]

Removed the seats today. The sport seat was a PITA until I realized that I had to remove the seat from the rails by removing the bolts from under the track rail. Time to make room in the basement for the parts so the bus can go back in the garage....