Boy what a pain in ass. Deb commented that I hadn't been that filthy as long as she's known me (which isn't true, when the put the motor in the 1980 Capri I was filthy)
It took a couple of hours to get the first fender well unscrewed. Drivers side first. After 25 years this car was really rusty.
After a couple more hours of unscrewing, breaking the heads off bolts and generally making a mess, I got the nose and both fenders off. I only got frustrated a couple of times, so I stopped and took a break. Nice thing about not having to get it together to drive it to work Monday!
I found that the passenger front rim is rusted to the rotor. Banged on it for a few minutes before giving up. One more thing to deal with ;-)
Unfortunately, I found proof of what I've been suspecting since I brought her home: The car was in a front collision at some point. First clue was the engine bay looks like it was pained black, not the blue/gray color of the body. Second as I started unbolting things I found different sized bolts on each side in the same spots.
It looks like it took a hit on the drivers side, since that fender doesn't have the same mounting points for the front spoiler as the passengers. There is also visible damage underneath.
Worse is the rust under the battery tray. See below. One of Courtney's friends is sleeping over tonight and her Dad is a body/paint man. He looked at the rust and said I'd need to cut it out and replace the whole part. Luckily we can get replacement parts for the parts in trouble.
Pictures below.
After 25 years, I'm pretty rusty too.
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