With most of the 100+ fasteners removed, the front clips begins to come away from the cab....
Little by little - with a lot of muscle and finesse (if I do say so myself - lol!)....
It comes away!
The GM Stovebolt-like straight-6 is easily accessible now.
But the engine's tear down will wait for another day,
the rest of today was spent tearing down the front clip.
Until I was physically exhausted - and the truck was lying - in pieces. I win again. ;)
Below the grille insert on the bench, ready for final dis-assembly....
Other than a few bent bits and some dings in the fenders, the metal is in damn good shape - for a all 60 year old truck that sat beside a beach all its life. Next week I'll finish disassembling the cab and box and it'll all be ready to go to the sandblasters.
The front panel has a baffle attached that re-directs air to the rad. It'll come off to be prepped and be painted separately. I imagine it will look great black against the baby-blue truck.
Stay tuned for more teardown!