The Chicken Coupe Project Intro
(Words and Photos by Matt Graves) - Meanwhile back at Chicken Coupe HQ…
Last time we ripped out the pimp-tackular interior so we could get the trans tunnel work done. Next we are finished removing the rest of the interior and took the 2000lbs worth of doors off. Believe it or not, they actually spot welded parts of the door hinges on at the factory due to the weight. At this point we are going to proceed with removing the body from the frame since it’s really not that big a job. The body mounts have seen better days and it will be easier to fab up the trans mount, fuel line plumbing etc.
One of the big debates has been the vinyl top. Do we remove it? Do we leave it? My final decision was to remove it. This may have been a mistake. My buddy Norm came by to help work on the car one night and being the impatient people we are. We decided to rip into the top to see what lurked underneath. This could be big project in its own.
The back window on these cars are recessed into the body to make room for the top. There is a plastic cap that gets covered in the vinyl. With all that removed, we’re facing a ½ gap to the edge of the window frame that either needs A: Custom glass to fill in the edge or B: Weld in metal strips to and body work the area to make it look right. Also one side of the body seam held water and has completely rusted through. So looks like a ton of metal work is on the horizon. If somebody had busted their back glass on one of these cars back in the day it would be a NIGHTMARE to replace it. You have to rip off the top to service it. Check out the pics and captions. Coming soon- body removal from frame!
Scroll down to see the photos and captions!
The back seat came out…along with whatever DNA was on it.
This massive door opening is normally filled with MASSIVE doors.
Norm begins the precision ripping of the vinyl.
Close up of our window frame problem. Suggestions are welcome at the this time while we hit the Jack Daniels to drown our sorrows.
Removing the NASA grade foam adhesive. You can glue rockets together with this stuff.
The horror of realizing this will be a massive job
Cancer at the body seam
The window…what the hell do we do with this window?!
