Next task to start to tackle is the right front fender. Using my newly gained knowledge from the left fender removal, I went ahead and got the bolts/nuts out of the vertical area where the fender meets the front passenger door.
Earlier today, I roped my neighbor's brother Eddie (who's staying with his brother for the duration) to come over and help me tackle some of the right front fender bolts, across the top of the fender. These are largely two-man jobs, thanks to the ancient cage nuts failing and spinning free - one person to get a good grip on the thin squared off portion of the nut (after having pulled back/torn off the clips originally holding the nut in place), and the other to back the bolt out from above.
We got several of the bolts off this way, and the remaining bolts were either too far back on the fender to allow a decent reach-and-grab from within the wheelwell area, or was right by the headlight bucket area, too cramped to get a tool in there.
So, time to put a new power tool to use. Yesterday I tripped over to Home Depot with Frank, as he needed to get some hardware for another project; I intended to pick up a Dremel of my own, so I didn't have to borrow Eddie's. The Dremels they had went up to 1.6 amp - and with a employee's helpful direction, I ended up opting for another tool that is 6 amp. Figured, it couldn't hurt. I also picked up a kit full of various attachments.
So we break out a cutting disk out of the kit, get it on the tool, and Eddie uses that to just plow through the remaining bolts in just a few minutes. Gotta love power tools!
At this point I'm expecting the fender to fight us a bit - the rubber seals around the top-to-front, and the vertical rubber seal by the door, are all ancient and unwilling to give up their grip easily. But, in the end, it was one more bolt that was holding the fender on - one at the very bottom of the fender/door area that I had missed. I knew it was there, and was thinking it was more of an attachment for the front of the entrance sill. On the left side, I had gotten the entrance sill out first, so this bolt was already out when we tackled the fender.
Sadly, the nut on this bolt is ancient, and it seems to have worn down in my attempts to remove it, and has gotten rounded off to the degree that a socket can't get a good hold. I'm going to have to cut/grind it off.
Eddie suggested shelving that until I could get that entrance sill out, which would then allow a lot more room and easier access. Good idea; but now I have two more bolts at the rear that need to come out first, and they will be a joy to remove. I'm going to soak these a few times with penetrant and then tackle them tomorrow.
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