Hoopty pix -- damage and updates

The wires inside the engine compartment got jogged up a bit. The connections floated in space, and apparently weren't too solid. I'm not surprised; they weren't in the cannon plugs all that well, 'cuz I've lifted the hatch and yanked them outta there a few times, but I repaired them with the roadside soldering kit.
Kelly, I read your other post -- I'll detail the contents of the bag later today to see what all I have in there. Ten pounds of crap in a five-pound bag ...
The shots here are the post-soldering clean-up I did yesterday at home. I took all the bumps off the solder with a file, so I could put the cannon-plug connectors back on.
Everything works as advertised again.

Finally, I got around to painting the GT mirrors with a little primer. They look much better now; a tad more finished than they did before.
The eggshell white is how they came to me from Russ, and the other shots are the 'after' pictures.

The damage to the undercarriage was limited to the nerf bar in the front, the tie-down hook and the tranny mount, but it looks like it's all repairable to me. The nerf bar has gouges in it, so there'll be welding involved, but I was going to put a metal chin-spoiler in anyway.
The tie-down hook can be fixed easily enough with a chunk of wood and a mallet ... and, thankfully, most of the damage to the tranny mount is cosmetic. It looks like oil, but it's mostly dirt.
There is a little bit of mystery fluid in there (third photo) but it's one drop of what could well be grime mixed with oil coming from my longstanding dipstick debacle; I'll have it on a lift again by the end of the week to see for sure.

Cory....does the Hoopty sleep outside every night?? maybe it got mad at you and made you run him off the road!!!! Burrrrrr...it's cold outside at night. ~Esther

Cory; the drop looks like transaxle hypoid oil; I have the exact same leak in the same spot. In my case it's one of the side covers. Although your beam got scratched a bit the damages are minor, especially the tranny mount which looks undamaged; I'm glad for you.

Esther, it sure does live outdoors. You may be right.

Ricardo, I'm feeling pretty lucky after having looked under the car critically yesterday. I'm sure you're right; that gear oil has probably been leaking steadily from the side covers, and I've just never noticed. There's no apparent damage anywhere near the axles.

Kelly, I took the opportunity to break open the tool bag and see what was actually in it. I haven

Where are the vice grips and duct tape? A can of Fix-A-Flat and a 2.5lb sledge wouldn't hurt either . . .

C'mon, TC! Who needs duct tape (this is gonna bite me) when you have A BUTANE SOLDERING IRON?!?

Yah ever tried to solder fiberglass?

Heh, heh.
I have a dune buggy if my body gets mashed up. All I have to do is dismount the street tires and move to South Carolina!

Cory,

Excellent job on the tools. A picture is worth a thousand words -- and you put in the thousand words too!! Above and beyond, MGM. I bet you could make $$ selling these kits. And I do recognize the extra fan belt. Never leave home without it!! I learned that the hard way back in the day when I was running my first Coupe. My personal opinion is that your low bumper bar probably saved more tender parts. It's a shame it got so chewed. Who does the rod burning? You (the Roadside Solderer) or the Wrench? And give esther a picture of Hoopty all tucked up in her (its??) pajamas during those cold/wet/windy nights, so she won't think you are a total cad.

I like the tool kit. It s pretty well got it covered, But I like the bag more. I'd like to have one for the beetle. Im glad it didnt do much harm.

Lane I personally have never soldered fiberglass But I have used JB Gorrllia Weld when pesky pin holes popped up in the primmer coats. Its a lot better than spot putty. and sets up fast.

The tool bag itself is a standard G.I. special. Duck-cloth is better than canvas, but you can get either for less than five bucks at a surplus store.

I have added Vise-Grips and duct tape. Good call, TC.