Bare Frame

The work has begun on the frame. I have removed the body bushings (small rubber disks cushioning the body and reducing the squeeking. Most are hard as a rock from years of weather and climate so those will definitely have to be replaced.

As well I have started to clean the frame and assess areas that need to be strengthened. I should be able to make quite an impact by welding some well placed braces and connection pieces.

Starting with this frame certainly makes me appreciate new metal as most of the frame has pitting.

I haven’t made a decision just yet regarding the rear kick up area of the frame and when I do I will post on my progress.

I have picked up driveshaft but haven’t had time to get it cut down quite yet.

Lift off!!

As I continued to dig into this project, I knew early that I needed to get to the frame to make sure that everything is strong. With so much of the parts running outside of the car like fuel lines, brake lines, exhaust, it would be a wise choice to start with a bare frame.

So, with a little help from another mercury owner I build a wooden buck to store the body of my car.

As with everything in this project having another person there to help makes things a whole lot easier. So my friend sawzall came over and we got it going.

The process wasn’t as hard as I thought, though I have a new appreciation for the “frame off” restoration process. I had to spend the afternoon cutting all the bolts free from the frame, moving the car to set it up, cleaning the garage and building the buck.

It was all pretty fun actually, but I think that now the hard part is coming. I looks like I might move in a different direction with the rear suspension opting for a trailing arm style, popular with NASCAR guys. As well I will be doing some significant bracing and welding of the frame as I have found some weak points.

All in all it took about 2 hours and most of that was set up and jacking the car up. With a little ingenuity and time it worked flawlessly. Now I can get to the fun stuff.

Next up is getting a drive shaft and pulling the drive train together. Stay tuned.