The Tear Down

After my big weekend of new-Sharka upgrades, I realized that if I didn’t get started on the big tear down of the 97, I’d never get to park in the garage again. That car wasn’t gonna take itself apart. Well, not much more than it already is anyway… So I made a pact with myself to do some work on it every evening until the tub was as bare as I wanted and I was ready to have it taken away. Every night, I’d do at least a small thing to get parts removed. EVERY night.

That was Monday. It is now Thursday.

On Monday, I removed the battery. Woo, right? Who cares, right? Well, the battery is in the trunk. In the corner. In the middle of the wreckage.

There's a battery in there.

The body work wasn’t actually touching the battery, but it was pointy and sharp and hard to get my hands in there. About 15 minutes of bending with a crowbar and hammer got the battery free. This was a big step because it meant (to me) that I’d never start the 97 again. Any movement would be via pushing and shoving. That meant I could tear into the engine bay and get the lump ready for removal.

On Tuesday night, I ripped into the engine bay. I spent maybe 45 minutes after work. I got the intake out, all of the wiring disconnected on the intake side and the cold air box out. Not a lot, but I can now get to the header and alternator and stuff. Maybe 3 hours and I could have the engine ready to come out.

On Wednesday night, I almost fell off the wagon and didn’t do anything. I told myself I’d do at least something small though, so I trudged into the garage. 15 minutes later, I had the soft top completely out. That thing really isn’t held in by much! The rain rail cracked and disintegrated, but the whole top is good and ready for reinstallation when/if I need it. The only problem is storage. I have absolutely no space for it until I clean off a shelf or something. The top currently sits on the body work.

It is now Thursday. I’m gonna clean the garage a bit tonight and create a storage space for the soft top. I think I can also get the lower lip spoiler off without much effort. Then, maybe some more engine bits…

The car isn’t gonna take itself apart.

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