Progress:
Well, I had the weekend free and finally got a bunch done. The big thing was the panhard bar brace which was going to take the most time. I started out sanding down the frame and got the weld-thru primer in order to prepare for spot welding when I decided to go a different route. I realize, chedda, that the steel version was meant to be welded, but for the sake of time (which I'm running low on), and my own perception that having several bolts securing the two part together would be stronger than spot welding, I decided to bolt it down instead. I was struggling to get the tank out which is mandatory for welding access, and after marking the points where the brace and the frame were touching, the weld points would just be in odd locations, based on the torsional forces that the brace would have to absorb. If I have extra time as things come together, I might spot weld it as well. So I drilled the holes and cut out the access hole for the tank strap hook. Everything fits snugly and all I need to do is get some good hardware to finish the install. More coming on this later.
This shows all the bolt holes with some spare hardware I had that I used for positioning.
Action shot of me cutting the access hole for the gas tank strap hook.
On the cosmetic side of things, I decided to take care of the rain rails, since they looked like crap. I'm not sure how others have dealt with these things, since they are often dried up, cracked, and rusty, but my plan of attack was to paint them. I knew the aluminum was in good shape, I just needed to get the over-molded plastic off, so here is what I did:
I got the dremel out and ran a cutting disc along the underside of the rain rail, as close to the body, and weather stripping as I could, making sure to just cut through the plastic and not the aluminum.
I then got a hammer and chisel and chipped the remaining plastic off the rail.
Then I got the dremel out again, this time with the wire brush attachment and sanded any remaining rust, plastic, and corrosion off the rail. Using the wire brush will also allow you to sand down the remaining plastic edge that is barely visible at the bottom of the rail. Now after a good wipe down with the denatured alcohol, it's ready for paint, which is coming later.
Another action shot for good measure...
I was also able to lay down some patch material on the holes in the body...
...now it's ready for fiberglass/bondo.
And lastly, I swapped out the old rotted sill trim with some better preserved parts that came with the car... makes a big difference.