Welded in Cages

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

Are a major PITA to get out! ;-)

Started tonight by finally pulling the 727 and Dana 20 out of the old 
racer.. that went alright after I finally figured out how to get to the 
crossmember bolts.. recall that this Scout doesn't have any axles or 
springs, so it sits a little low.. ;-)

Then I decided to see about getting the 'cage out.. stick welder 
electrode holder and a 10lbs box of cutting rod in hand, I cranked 'er up 
to 230amps and went to work..

4+ hrs later, the 'cage is out!  Every time I thought I'd cut enough 
away, something *else* got hung up.  I quickly determined it would be 
easier to patch the frame later if I wanted to reuse it.. the frame cuts 
easier than the big ugly welds that were tying the 'cage to the frame.

That old racer looks pretty sad, lying on it's frame in the dirt, no 
front clip at all.. no p/s box, no column, no radiator, no trans, no 
motor.. and with the 'cage out, the only thing that's higher than the 
frame is the firewall.. that's all that's left of the body.. well, the 
trans tunnel is in good shape.. I may cut the trans tunnel out, then chop 
up the rest of the sheet metal.

Only thing left to salvage is the gas tank, gas pedal, and any sheet 
metal patches I think I want.. not much else left!

That means.. soon I get to drag the OTHER carcass out front and go 
through the reversal of all this.. *sigh*  fun!

-Tom Mandera, Helena MT
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout
'77/78 Scout II Racer - cage, motor, trans, column, p/s box are out.. not 
much left!
Yep.. 2am.. must be time for bed..