The Day We Man Handled the Rear Axle Assembly

It’s safe to say we are in full swing on the tear down and let me add – we are crushing it. Last week we spent some time setting ourselves up to take off the front end. This week we tackled it. The shocks were unbolted, leaf spring perch was unhooked, and the radius rods were loosened. With a dramatic last few ‘cranks’ of the wrench, the front end broke free with an explosion of leaf springs at the same time. After a few nervous laughs, we confirmed nothing (and no one) had broken and we rolled the front end, still attached to the front tires, away to be disassembled later.

All of those tasks lead up to the big event. #HotWheelHoney was in charge of removing the last bolt that attached the rear end bracket to the rear radius rod. We were warned that the rear end would want to roll forward under the car when it came detached, but I think we realized we were in over our heads right about the moment the hammer made contact with the radius rod clevis. In one fluid motion, the bolt flew out and the rear end came dropping towards the ground. Did I mention that the rear end is heavy? REAL heavy. Somehow we managed to rest the rear end on the ground without breaking anything (or anyone). My only regret was not getting that on video.

On the less eventful side we also started the upholstery process this week. #PretTyinPink and #BucketBetty began by adhering the wood blocks to the fiberglass body, but ran out of adhesive and clamps before they could get that totally crossed off the to-do list – more of that project to come next week after we make a quick trip to the hardware store!