the driveshaft in a safe and secure area so it does not fall; it can be easily dented. The U-joints will be replaced later on in your restoration, and we will cover that part of the restoration at that time. As always, make note of any markings you may find. The assembly-line shafts have paint stripes on them that correlated with box 19 of the build sheet. The assembly worker would look on the build sheet for the stripe colors and would pick the correct shaft from the bank to install on the car. Other paint markings can be found on the shaft as well as the pinion flange and slip yoke, so look around.
Pulling the Engine
Remove the carburetor and distributor so they are not damaged during the engine-removal process. Have an engine stand, dolly, old tire, wood blocks, or whatever else you intend to use to set the engine on at the ready. It is recommended to use an engine hoist (or cherry picker as some are called) to remove the engine and try to have a buddy available to help negotiate the engine and transmission from the frame if needed.
Always use grade 3 or higher bolts and a chain suited for the task. This is one area you never want to skimp on when it comes to safety. Lift the engine and transmission from the frame as a unit for ease of removal. Once on the ground, the engine and transmission can be separated. At this point, the transmission can be stored in a safe place—preferably on a dolly—and the engine mounted on a stand to ease in its disassembly.
Parking Brake Removal
The parking or emergency brake (as it is commonly called) cables can now be removed; they are in three separate assemblies. The front main cable that was separated from the body during the body removal section in chapter 3 can now be removed from the frame. Note that the cable comes downward and into the front corner of the driver-side framerail. From there, it runs through a hole at the rear portion of that part of the frame and is held there by what is commonly called a butterfly clip.
The primary parking brake cable will come through the front framerail just behind the driver-side front tire on the rear side of that rail. After the intermediate cable equalizer and large C-hook have been removed, go back and remove the small butterfly clip.
The primary cable attaches to the intermediate cable by way of a stabilizer bracket, and tension is applied via two nuts. Remove these and the large C-hook from the intermediate cable as well as the two smaller S-hooks from the body and let the cable drop. Move to the rear of the intermediate cable and remove the U-brackets.
Moving to the rear of the intermediate cable, remove the C-brackets that hold the intermediate cable to the rear cable. Note that the rear parking brake cable is also held to the frame with butterfly clips.
Determine if your crossmember is correct for your manual-transmission (shown here) or the automatic-transmission application. The manual-transmission crossmember will have the extra bracket welded to the rear of the crossmember for mounting of the shifter bracket to it.
Pay special attention to the bolts mounting the crossmember to the frame, assuming they are original and have never been molested. The assembly manual shows that these should be mounted from the top down, but we rarely see them this way. They are usually mounted from the bottom up. This is likely due to the frame being assembled at the plant upside down.
Near the end of this cable, you will find an intermediate brake-cable equalizer. It will have the intermediate cable running through it. Just behind the equalizer are two nuts that lock together and adjust the cable tension. Remove these two nuts and slide the equalizer and intermediate cable off of the front cable as well as the large C-hook that stabilizes the intermediate cable. The C-hook is attached to the transmission crossmember just to the right of the transmission tailhousing.
Now remove the intermediate cable from the equalizer. Place the hardware and any other parking brake parts in the bag you already labeled back when the body was removed from the frame. The two C-shaped hooks that held the intermediate cable to the floorpan will already be in that bag. Now that you have all of that hardware removed, go back and remove the butterfly clip from the primary cable and pull the cable upward and out of the frame.
At the rear of the intermediate cable, you will find two U-brackets that hold the intermediate cable to the rear differential cables. Place the U-brackets in your bag and put the front main and intermediate cable in a safe place for restoration or replacement. Normally these cables are worn, stretched, and rusted and will require replacement.
With the drivetrain and emergency brake cables out of the way, now is a good time to remove the transmission crossmember. Chevrolet used one type for manual transmissions and another for automatic transmissions. The manual version had an additional bracket welded to the rear of it for the manual-shifter mounting bracket, so make sure you have the correct one. Also, note how the four bolts that hold the crossmember to the frame are positioned. The assembly manual states to install them facing downward, but some plants installed them facing up.
Suspension Removal
From this point, place the frame on jack stands in four locations, or—better yet—use a two-post lift if you have one available. Start by placing the jack stands on the front and rear corners of the main framerail under the door area or two at the rear of the frame. Raise the frame so that the tires are just off the ground. I found that this will best support the frame: the stands are (for the most part) out of your way, and you can remove the tires when the time comes without jacking up the frame. If you are using a car lift, this will work even better because you can raise and lower the frame to better suit the area that you are working on. When using the lift, strap the frame to the hoist arms for added security.
Now that you documented everything and stabilized the frame, you can remove the wheels and tires. Once you have them removed and neatly stacked out of your way, start removing all the frame component parts. The order in which you do this is entirely up to you. However, it is best to get the bulky and heavy items out of the way first, such as the front and rear suspension. This allows for a little cleaner access area to the rest of the components to remove them later on.
Usually the best location to place the jack stands is under the frame to keep them mostly out of your way during disassembly when removing both the front and rear suspension. Be very careful not to accidently lean on or move the frame while disassembling because this could cause the stands to move and the frame to fall off, causing severe damage and injury. Shown here is a completely disassembled frame to give an unobstructed view of the locations to place the stands.
Place your rolling frame on a two-post lift. This will allow you to raise and lower the frame to a comfortable height while you work on each facet of the disassembly. It is a good idea to use straps and wrap them around the frame at each lift arm for added security so that the frame does not walk off the lift arms.
