engine and drivetrain Rusty rockers and floors

[jerry]

looking at Blunt's post nearby makes me green with envy. anyhow, i've got a '73 tii in my stable with considerable rust issues. i originally bought it for the rebuilt engine and 5 spd but i can't bring myself to scrapping it (has clean title still). won't do a VIN-up restoration, cuz i'd always know...

i removed the tar on the floorboards (dry ice worked fine). the leading edges are rusty as are the rockers. up till this car i've been very lucky with minimal rust cars strong enough to lift from the original car jack points.

how do i cradle this car to remove tires, engine, transmission and rockers? i consider myself reasonably mechanically inclined and just dumb enough to try to tackle this myself. i salvaged much of the requisite replacement parts on a '72 i scrapped due to irretrievable title problems.

thanks in advance

[winstontj]

Just use the subframes for jacking points. In the front if you can't put a jackstand under the frame rail you probably shouldn't be under the car. If it's really bad try driving the car up on a ramp and then climbing under to search for suitable jacking points. - please be careful!

[a54atii]

I agree that the subframes are the best lifting points for a rusty car. The other thing I've done is take a couple of 2x4s or 4x4s (about 5-6' in legth) and put them under the floor or rocker seam when lifting the car. This will distribute the lifting force over a larger area so you're not as vulnerable to a single point of failure. But be very careful and don't be afraid to be a little paranoid about safety.

Once you have the stuff off the topside, just flip the shell on its side and finish it off. Carefully, of course...

Have fun!

Karl

[Martin]

with arms that attach to the subframe mounting points. More details are available on my website. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Cheers,

[FL02]

good call about the 2x4s...also, I've used the rust encaplsolator spray stuff at walmart and it nutralizes surface rust, then coat and paint, unless they are really bad, then sand to bare metal and prime and paint. I got some soldiering putty from eastwood company that looks pretty cool to fill holes. What you do is spread it on and heat it with a torch and it tuns to hard metal. It might work well on some seams, if it is not too bad.

[dellowm_tii_74]

I like Martin's idea about the steel arms attached to the subframe mounting points. It will work with the earlier 2002s. However what if those areas are rusted too much to do that. It is a matter of ongoing effort. With my 74 tii I was able to do the rotisserie function by using the massive bumper shocks and brackets to attach hefty wooden bumpers and then hoist up the car with a couple of ratcheted come-alongs and use large 1" diameter bolts in the middle as pivots to double 2X10 joist attached across my garage at about 4 ft high. Then I was able to rotate the car on its longitudinal axis, securing it with chains and the cable come-alongs from above to reach any attitude required for welding. It was a very cheap way of doing it with minimal work. I had to refabricate the areas around the back subframe bolts which are splined in from above, the rockers , the rear rocker vertical floor panels areas, the front and rear floor pan areas, especially around the front frame channels, the complete rear subframe outer bolt brackets and floor corners just in front of the wheel wells. Once done I checked the front to rear subframe mount point dimension specifications and I was with 1 -2MM of spec.

[jay7602]

I'm at about the same point, if the "tar" being removed is the goo holding padding on the inside of the car. What is the "dry ice technique" - are you freezing the tar, making it brittle enough that it breaks off easily? Are you using the CO2 directly or as sold for coolers as blue ice (captive)? If in its raw form, what sort of sources would be able to provide it? Thanks