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Our donor car has a bad frame. Well, it is unibody, but the engine support on both sides and the right-front suspension support are damaged. Considering the parts situation and rarity of the car, though, we decided to get a car with a better body and save the parts off of the 330 for future repairs. I already had removed the left-front suspension for a rebuild, and decided to remove the rest of the parts on the concrete pad, rather than putting the wheel back on and driving the 330 to its final resting place. This would be safer and protect the parts from dirt. I was able to drop the engine out of the bottom fairly easily by removing the suspension, radiator, and pretty much everything that looked like it might be in the way. I removed the springs, drums, axle, and differential as one assembly. All of this was surprisingly easy and straightforward. The problem, though, is how do you move a car with no wheels? I towed the car off of the concrete pad and got it positioned as close as I could. I used chain because that is safer than cable, which can stretch and snap, taking pieces of you with it. The problem, though, was there was no way to get Romeo (AKA Skid) properly positioned in the middle of the garden, since I couldn't drive my truck into the garden area. Yes, Romeo (AKA Skid) is going to be a garden fixture and greenhouse, immortalizing the noble lines of this fine car with a Rambling Rose growing from the hood. Over the years, I imagine that many of Romeo's parts will end up keeping Ruby running.
OK. How did I move a car with no wheels? Well, I put a 4X4 post into the ground as deep as I could get it. I was able to bury about 4 feet of the post. Here is how the post looked:
I braced the front of the post with two end-to-end pavers. I put rebar and the digging tool on the back side of the post for support as well. Notice the post is tilted away from the chain, and the chain is as close to the ground as possible. I used a hand-operated winch rated at 4 tons to drag Romeo one inch at a time. The winch was between a chain to the car, and another chain to the post. This is quite dangerous. If you do attempt this, do make sure you have a winch with enough capacity so that you don't snap the winch cable. Whatever you think you probably need, quadruple that number. Wear protective goggles and padded leather gloves. Keep your body out of the way of where a snapping cable will lash out. Do read this sites terms of use. Another good rundown of some of the issues involved with pulling is here. Here are some pictures of the pull:
The final leg of the journey:
Here is the final resting place for Romeo (AKA Skid), a 1963 Rambler American 330:
Skid makes a good garden folly, don't you think? We'll put up more pictures of Skid in the future, as the garden grows up around him. We have plans to make a greenhouse out of him as well.
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