A quick update on progress

My last post was on October 25! It is now November 17...almost Thanksgiving. The weather has definitely turned the corner to colder days. We've had a fair amount of rain over the past few weeks as well. It makes it hard to get motivated to go out into the ramshackle carport to fight with the parts I can't get to budge.
But, I managed to get a few hours in, here and there, during my days off.
The struggle with the distributor went on for several weeks. It resulted in more trips to Home Depot and Harbor Freight than I had hoped, but I finally found the winning combination: brute strength and a mid-sized pry bar.

It was a moment of sheer joy when that thing popped out. I was happy to have been warned that the distributor in my car did not have gears attached...that the end simply looked like a flat-head screwdriver. If I had not known that before removing the part, I would've thought I had broken the end off!

Once that was out of the way, I was able to loosen all the bolts on the intake manifold. I have not taken it out yet, however. I have a list of things I'd like to have done before the snow falls and/or working conditions are less than ideal.
So, even though I'm feeling good about moving forward with the engine, as far as removing parts and cleaning out the gunk, I'll likely be saving that for Spring.
In the meantime, I made the decision to forgo welding the trunk. The hole was fairly large, and definitely a welding job for someone in the know, but I just did not see myself attaining that skill (or equipment) in a timely manner. Instead, I chose to use a resin/fiberglass patch.

I had already done some patching over the small holes with Bondo body filler. It is unfortunate that I didn't think to just go with the fiberglass from the start, but I am hoping the overlapping of fiberglass over filler won't be too problematic.

I still have to get out there to sand and see how it looks, since the day I did it, I ran out of time doing other chores. ugh...life.
With that patch ready to sand, and then the trunk ready to prime (and possibly paint, in the future), I can finally get the new fuel tank in and tie up the fuel lines. With that done, I can finally finish hooking up the new brake lines and finish the front brake conversion and re-assemble the rear drums. The new shocks can go on, all around; and, I can get the tires mounted and ready.
Spring can be all about getting the engine and exhaust squared away and with any luck, it'll be on the road by summer.
Now, I'm not counting my chickens, by any means, but I'm finally at a place where I feel like I'm moving steadily forward.

it's a restoration...it's not going to be smooth sailing

so, in my last post, i revealed my first really big step towards getting the car back together. that is, my first really big step without adult supervision. I removed the differential cover on the rear axle so i could replace the gasket. (here's that post, if you missed it)
well, not that i've abandoned that project, but i've hit a bit of a snag. the snag being my own stupidity and procrastination. basically, i went out early yesterday morning to get what i needed to move ahead, but got the wrong kind of adhesive. well, i got a silicone RTV adhesive, which i can use when i get to the window seal part of this undertaking, but i'm pretty sure it's the wrong stuff for the differential.
not a big deal, really, since i have many other things i can occupy my time with these days.
the floor has been kind of on the back burner, because i just couldn't figure out how to get the seats out, with this car stuck in the car port. well, i unbolted the seats and just moved them to the back seat, basically. of course, that made getting the carpet out, a real pain in the ass. (full disclosure: the job of getting the carpet out was done a few days ago. it took me 2 hours of struggling and repositioning the seats and eventually just pulling really hard because i could not get the seat belts un-bolted, and 2 screws on the drivers side door rail were stuck from all the corrosion.)

this is how it stayed for a long time...as i struggled to figure out how to get the bench seat out

after the carpet came out. i was able to asses the rust situation

you can see the majority of the rust is concentrated on the driver's side. where the window leaked a lot. the car sat for years without a cover

the driver's side door rail...those last 2 screws wouldn't budge.
though you can see the corrosion was so bad, i was able to just pull the carpet out from underneath

yesterday was the day i was planning on really spending time on the car. i wasn't thinking about all the time spent brushing the rust...sweeping and vacuuming...then the prepping and dry time to apply the POR-15. but that wasn't the half of it! i can find things to do while i wait for stuff to dry. the problem was the degree of rust that was going on under the gas pedal. 

a tiny hole turned into a slightly bigger hole and then i found more...which also got bigger when i applied a little more pressure and elbow grease. sadly, welding a new floor panel has become a necessity. i already have major damage inside the trunk and a little issue with the chassis...i was hoping to avoid something like this.

but i am not discouraged! set backs are inevitable with projects like this. i have a good support system in place, so i have faith.

so what did i do while waiting for cleaning products to dry?

i moved back to the rear axle. though i didn't have the sealant to get the gasket in just yet, i do have all my new brake lines, so i figured 'why not tackle that!?'

once again...a little snag. i couldn't get the brake line disconnected from the wheel cylinder. so i cut the line. and then went through all manner of pliers and wrenches and maneuvering to try the get that little bastard out...i finally managed. after the day i was having, it felt like a major victory!

I replaced the new wheel cylinders and tee and screwed in my pre-bent rear axle brake lines! again...what a victory to actually be putting things back together!

the old and the new

but then...another 'uh-oh' moment. something just doesn't match up and i think it means i need to remove axle shafts and replace the gaskets! which i was so hoping i wouldn't have to do...

unfortunately...

driver's side

passenger's side

...neither of these gaskets seem quite right...

and that's where we're left. with me looking at renting a slide hammer to remove the axle shafts. at least the axle is already off the car. 

there's my silver lining.

there's my silver lining.

one more time...

silver lining.

Emotional meltdown turned re-ignition

Warning: this post starts a bit personal; but, I promise pictures and actual 'car talk' at the end.

Here's a little more of my back story. 
My family life wasn't full of touchy-feely emotional love-fests.  That's not to say I didn't feel loved, but we didn't show a lot of emotion in my family.  I, of course, felt supported and protected by my family...but, more in the way a growing lion cub might.  Your parents are there to keep you out of trouble to a certain point.  You learn your lessons, because you're on your own next time. 
My siblings and I all dealt with our particular brand of family love in different ways.  Without getting into every one's business here, I'll keep it to my own personal issues.  I retreated to my room a lot.  I didn't need people in my life...people complicated things with their own problems that I didn't need on top of my own.  I didn't cry a lot.  I was an emotional wasteland.  When I was in my late teens/early twenties, a friend of mine told me I had 'a heart of stone' because I didn't cry at the Lion King. 
Who cares?  How could this possibly have anything to do with the rebuilding of a car?  Well, if I saw that movie today, I would cry from start to finish.  I cry at the drop of a hat.  It's something I'm not proud of.  But here's how it ties in with the car...
I had a bit of a breakdown this week.  I have been chipping away at some cosmetic things.  The latest project was the carpet.  The driver's side carpet is soaked.  The passenger's side seems wet, but it is hard to tell because of the cold.  I attempted to use the shop-vac to dry the carpet:

The suction of the vacuum tore the carpet for me.  I had no choice at that point; but, I had been avoiding the inevitable task, anyway.

All of the padding had turned into a rusty, soggy mess of floor-rotting goo.

It wasn't as warm as earlier days, and my emotional state was pretty delicate at that point, so all I could manage was the worst part of the carpet.  I wasn't really prepared for the severity of the rust.  I knew it was bad, but it just went on forever!  My fingers had become numb, so I just cut out the wet part, to go back later and do a proper job of getting all the carpet out.  When I decided I would take care of the rest later, I moved over to the passenger's side just to make sure that side could wait.

I saw this:

From reading another blog (Mopar Motorhead's post about rebuilding his own 1964 Barracuda's heater) I was taught that this is the fresh air inlet (passenger's side).  It's cracked!  Luckily, I can use this other blog as reference...Thank you, Mopar Motorhead!

But here's the trouble...the numerous leaks I've discovered, the leaks I've found after thinking I've fixed the problem, the rust...oh, my! the rust!, the cracks, the tears...it's all getting to be a bit much when you consider I haven't even done anything with the engine.  Actually, parts have been taken out...nothing going back in!
I have pretty much been abandoned by the person who (seemingly) wanted this more than anything.  I was feeling alone and defeated.  What was I thinking?  How am I, a girl with no knowledge of cars, going to fix this rusted mess of what used to be a car?
I sent my brother a text asking his opinion, telling him I felt abandoned and depressed.  He said: sell it.  He also offered, and not to be mean, I obviously had felt the same way more than once: don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you two were getting in over your heads.  He is his father's son...before passing away, those were some of Dad's last words...only without the 'don't take this the wrong way' part!  But after some texts back and forth (I think he was at work and I HATE talking on the phone...texting is the best thing to ever happen for the socially and emotionally detached!) I simply asked if he would still help me out, talk me through stuff if I called.  He said 'of course' and that he would still like to do any body work.  I felt better.
After a long day of talking myself into and out of and back into sticking with this project, Jason came home and handed me a piece of paper he found stuck in our door: 'If you want to sell your Ply Barracuda Give a call...'
But I had already made up my mind for sure, at that point.  I entered into this project knowing it was going to be difficult, having no idea what I was doing.  I knew I was going to have to be the driving force behind the whole thing, but I can't just give up after replacing a couple seals and tearing up a bit of carpet!  I haven't even started to learn about how the engine works!  That's the part I am looking forward to!  That's the whole point!
And I know I always have the support of my friends. 
So, after a long emotional day, I've decided to stick with it.  I've abandoned any type of time table for finishing it, though.  I think, with the cold weather coming, we're looking to get moving again in the Spring and see how things go from there.  I don't care what it looks like when it's running...I just want to hear it start!