Rich did manage to clean up the pedal box and pedals:

Before                                        After

                    Much better!

December 22 - Rich and I took one last stab at trying to disassemble the brake master cylinder.  We finally got it apart after an hour, but won't be able to rebuilt it, so we have to order a new one anyway.

Then we disassembled the passenger side swivel axle to find out why there was some wobble there.  It looks like the lower trunnion is shot - no surprise there-  so we will replace all the bushings in both the upper and lower trunnions. 

We will replace the tie rod ends as these are pretty well worn. 

The king pin looks okay, so hopefully we won't have to spend $495 to replace the two swivel axles.  We will have a local expert take a look at it to make sure it's fine.  

Everything needs cleaning!

We also removed the clamps and bushings from the sway bar as they will need replacement.

Tonight I'm working on our first parts order. 

Today we finished disassembling the front suspension, removing the driver's side spindle, coil spring and lower control arm. 

It wasn't too had removing the lower control arm when we discovered the secret - using the ball joint pickle fork!

Then we tried removing the lower fulcrum pin in order to separate the spindle from the control arm and ran into major problems.  It is frozen solid and the lower fulcrum pin is not coming out!

This is a close-up of the lower fulcrum pin. The bushing inside the control arm is completely shot and the pin is just banging around inside. You can see a hole in the control arm where it was wearing through.  The other side has a hole also. Not good!  We have to replace the entire lower control arm and king pin set.

We also removed the passenger side coil spring and lower control arm and need to replace those also.

I shopped around and found the best deal from Apple Hydraulics in Long Island.  They can supply 2 sets of completely rebuilt king pins and lower control arms for about $570, plus $240 for the core charge, shipping and tax.  They are closed all next week, so I'm going to call them tomorrow to see if they can ship out everything tomorrow.  Otherwise, we will be tied up until they return on January 3rd.

We also removed the sway bar and need to replace the ends.

The entire front suspension is out.  Now we just need replacement parts.

Finally, I won a New Old Stock Lockheed Brake Master Cylinder on Ebay tonight.  Anywhere else it would cost $125-$140 plus tax and shipping.  I snagged it for $75, plus 9.95 shipping.  Yeah!

My daughter's home for the holidays.  Time for a holiday break...

December 24, 2010 - I just ordered rebuilt king pin sets and lower control arms from Apple Hydraulics in Long Island.  Total cost:  $850 (less a $240 core charge if our parts can be rebuilt).  Apple close their doors until January 3rd, and by ordering today, we will get them on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.