Starting at the Bottom

After removing the body, I found the frame covered with decades of rust, mud and grease. I scraped and wire-brushed most of the loose stuff and then spent many hours and about ten bags of blasting media to remove the tough crud and rust. It was extremely satisfying to see the results after cleaning and painting. All suspension parts have been pulled, and are being disassembled, cleaned and painted. I've pretty much given up on mating a Dakota front suspension to the Plymouth frame, but plans still aren't set in stone.

It Moves!

Son, Michael, came for a visit and we pulled the body off the frame. With the inexpensive cart we built, I can now move the body around and hide it behind the garage so the neighbors don't complain about the eyesore.

Little Things Mean a Lot

Fine sandpaper, three grits of polishing compound and a lot of elbow grease can do wonders for even heavily rusted stainless steel.