Dawning is the day.

Forgive the song reference, but I've been listening to the Moody Blues all day long :)

I spent some of last Saturday yanking stuff off the Lark's engine in preparation for pulling it this weekend. My friend John is coming over with his engine hoist, and I somehow talked Dave from the San Diego Chapter of the SDC into coming up and lending a hand. Dave's got a couple of nice Studebakers, including Sweet Pea (his '64 4-door, a daily driver), a couple of '50s wagons and whatnot (check out pix of his cars here).

So I pulled as much off the block as I could: carb, distributor, water pump, water manifold, fuel pump, alternator, wires, etc. Took the radiator out too. I was thinking I'd just disconnect the engine from the transmission and leave the trans in the car, but on the advice of the group we'll pull 'em both as a unit and separate the two once they're out.

Man, there were a whole lotta rat turds under the intake and on top of the valve covers! I also found a snail lodged between the water manifold and the block... go figure. The coolant that drained out of the radiator was dark brown at the bottom; lots of sludge in the cooling jacket no doubt. I haven't drained the block yet because I can't get to the plugs while she's on the ground, and I didn't want to get under her without someone around to help (since the parking brake is non-op, I'll have to chock the rear wheels and pray).

Things remaining to do before Saturday include sucking the transmission fluid out and unbolting the throttle bell crank from the back of the block. Once she's on jack stands, we'll need to remove the starter (tucked between the block and exhaust forward of the bell housing), loosen the exhaust pipes and disconnect the speedo cable and shift control linkage; then undo the motor and trans mount bolts and we'll be ready to lift.

Wish me luck!