Suspension and engine bay

I had pre-marked the hole positions before starting to drill.

I've clamped the new crossmember in place with C-clamps so I can drill bolt holes in the sides of the front chassis lip.

The finished holes are ready for bolting on the new crossmember. Why bolts instead of welding? I figure that next time the engine has to come out, removing the crossmember will make it easier.

With the drilling done, I give the new crossmember a coat of primer, then semigloss black paint.

Painted and re-bolted, it's ready to go.

This is the last piece needed to make the engine runnable. I couldn't resist starting it just to make sure it worked.

Remounted using my original ugly-but-effective brackets. I'll have to test it once the battery is back in the car, to make sure it turns the correct direction.

This switch - screwed into another hardware-store-plumbing block - turns on the fan when the coolant gets hot enough.

Eighth-inch angle steel and half-inch Grade 8 bolts. That oughta hold it!

Last season, headlamps drove me crazy because they wouldn't stay up all the way. Now I know why -- pivot tube through the center of left pod had rusted almost completely through! (see lower left.) Rust was so bad I couldn't remove the taper pins that hold rod to brackets - had to cut through the rod with a cutoff wheel and remove the pieces.

Fortunately, restoration supplier Jack Ashcraft comes through with a new set of hardware from his private stash. Brackets on left have been cleaned and painted; right ones still to do.