The disassembly process was a learning opportunity in itself-every part I removed I found out something new about the car, how it was put together, how things worked (or, at least how they were supposed to work), and all the things I'd have to repair, replace, or could do without. The main thing I discovered was that when mechanical assemblies stay bolted together for over 30 years, they REALLY don't want to come apart. The tools I used the most during this phase of the project were lots of Liquid Wrench, a small propane torch, a 1/2" breaker bar, and on really stubborn stuff (like the transaxle mount bolts)-I resorted to the air compressor, impact wrench and sockets, and patience. Think twice about using an impact on everything-you'll end up snapping old bolts off in the threads, thus creating twice as much work-now you've got to drill it out! My usual technique was to soak all the hardware I wanted to remove the night before in penetrating oil, then heat them well with the torch right before I attempted to loosen them-this approach almost always works.
Once I had a part removed from the car, I made sure to put all of the old attaching hardware in labled plastic bags so I'd have a clue as to what it went to when (if?) I ever got around to putting it all back together. Early in the process, I kept all the parts bags in cardboard boxes labled as to what section of the car it contained (i.e., "front suspension", "body & trim", "worthless junk"--you get the idea), but now have moved everything into plastic storage boxes with fitted lids-the cardboard absorbed all of this wonderful Texas humidity and guickly assumed the consistency of, well, wet cardboard. Lesson learned. Larger pieces I added to growing pile in the corner of the garage to be sandblasted. It's amazing how much room a car-even a small one-can occupy when it's no longer bolted together. The worst part of the "getting to know the car by taking it completely apart" process was discovering just how rusty my little 912 really was-numerous holes in the floorpan, rotted-out rear seat depressions and firewall, and weak spots all around the tubes that carried the wiring harness for the headlights and turn signals in the front fenders. Amazingly enough, though, the body itself is in pretty good shape.
