Also like the rears, I inverted the guide for a second press, and left the pressure on for a few minutes.

7. Like the rears, the front mounts also have a pre-install angle. So, set the A-arm horizontal.

The mount should be 21 degrees, also "up".

A-arms done, and ready for installation.

Another little job today, rebuilding the heater control lever. All the parts, random order.

And all the parts, in proper order.

I used some teflon dry lube, and put it all together.

Getting close to having everything ready for installation (not counting the motor and transaxle). The biggest untouched pile is the interior, hiding up on the shelf.

Another short day in my garage. I noticed that one ball end on the rear sway bar is loose.

These are essentially riveted in place. The flange on the back side deformed enough for a sloppy fit.

I used the press to tighten the fit.

The fit is tight again, but I will add a bit of weld to ensure.

(Next day)

Welded and ground. Ready for powder coating.

Back to body work today. I guess I missed it.

Here are the outer rocker covers, both in very good condition.

One needed just a few tweaks along the edges. The other has a typical crack where the lower edge steps up. (sorry for the fuzzy photo)

On the inside, more magic bondo.

Question to idiot PO: why bother with bondo (with no reinforcement) on the inside, and nothing on the outside?

Note to PO, or PO repair shop: This is the proper way to repair cracked sheet metal.

Almost pretty now. Rocker covers ready for powder coating.

Next piece: rear valance. Also in pretty good shape, no rust or dents.

Here's the original tail pipe cut.

PO had a "custom" exhaust with dual pipes. And made a kinda-symmetrical cut in the valence. But not really. I want a stock muffler and single tail pipe, so this cut has to go.

First I cut away the custom flange.

A quick cardboard template and then a patch piece.

After some initial shaping, the patch in place.

Welded along the main surface.

Flange folded and the rest of the welding.

First pass grinding and a bit more shaping.

Some flat black for a guide coat.

After a quick scuff with a sanding block. A bit lumpy.

Touch up welding.

More grinding and shaping.

After another round of shaping and guide coat. Good enough for this piece.

Progress at the body shop. This week they got onto my car. They finished the hand sanding on the body and doors, and were starting on the trunk lids.

The plan is to paint the underside today, while still on the rotisserie, and then put the car on the dolly, remove the interior brace, and paint the interior and topside tomorrow and Friday. BTW, I did get to see the new color on the headlight covers--but will keep the suspense a few more days.

They also did most of the seam sealing, but need to hit a few more spots.

I also picked up another batch of parts from the powder coat shop. More shiny.

Next up, brakes. I have not seen these since last year. It looks like all parts are present, including on the rear calipers. I think the logical thing is to send these off to PMB, along with the proportioning valve.

I already have a new replacement for the MC.

The other thing I want to send out is the seat belts, for re-webbing. The hardware needs some attention, too.

For the receivers, I removed the wiring for the warning lights.

The PO, in his black-out phase, even painted the push buttons. Fortunately, the paint came off with fingernail scratching (followed by a bit of 3M Adhesive Remover).

All cleaned up.

For fun, I tried exploring the belt retractor. Oops.

Fortunately, no kinks in the spring. I was able to wind it back.

And explore a bit on the lock side.

The side covers also have a red overspray accent. Nice going, PO.

Fortunately, GoofOff did the job--on the cover on the left.

I cleaned the undercoating (again, thanks PO) from the anchor at the end of the belt. One is OK, the other is about half rusted through. I think I will replace these when I get new belts made--probably in body color (tease).

Speaking of body color, I stopped by the shop today. They are are schedule: painted the underside yesterday, and transferred the body to the dolly.

Next up, the brake components. The calipers are nasty dirty, but complete.