Cotter Pins...and other stuff...

Well its been awhile since I have posted, but I have managed to get several days of work in.  I finally have the dash completely dismantled...well almost...the gear shifter and steering column are still in, but everything else is out...no pedals, no wiring, no levers, no gauges...nothing!  Taking the pedals out turned out to be a tough challenge.  I figured most everything would be held in place using nuts and bolts.  I couldn't have been more wrong though...cotter pins...everything was held in place by cotter pins!  Normally this isn't a big deal...you straighten the ends and pull it through.  Well working in a tight space under the dash made the challenge about 10 times harder than it should have been!  I literally spent an hour and 10 minutes trying to get out the cotter pin that help the E brake lever on.  I just couldn't get it to slide through!  Luckily the cotter pins with the gas, brake and clutch were much easier to remove.  The other issues I had was with the 4WD lever...it was held on by a clamp that was bolted in.  From what I could tell initially it looked like all you had to do was loosen the clamp and the rod would slide out.  I beat on it with a hammer...used penetrating fluid...and yanked on it to try and get it off.  Well if I had thought of it sooner...just take the whole bolt out...which did the trick.  Now for the sad part...it took me 3 days to figure it out!  I also managed to get the rest of the dash knobs out and the dash pads.  One thing I was having an issue with was the stuck speedo cable.  I finally broke down and bought a pair of vice grips...and it came out no problem!  I'm going to have to replace a couple of gauges at some point...the oil pressure and temperature gauges haven't been connected and the auxiliary gauges just need to go.  Hopefully I can figure out how they work and get them replaced.  Among other news...I finally got the last 4 extremely rusted bolts for the roll cage out.  That landed me a few bruises on my arms because of how I had to be positioned to get the best leverage.  The only problem now is actually getting it out of the car.  The front brackets are apparently home made and are wedged under the top mounting area.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to separate the mounts from the roll cage...two bolts...roll cage rusted into place...not an easy task.  I have it soaking in penetrating fluid so hopefully a few whacks with a hammer will loosen it up!  I've also been working on the back end as well.  I finally got the tailgate off and all the associated hardware.  The bumper has everything removed as well except for the trailer hitch which I have a feeling will be a pain in the rear to take off.  I guess the next steps will be working on getting the steering disconnected and figuring out what to do with the steering box...its oozing grease and not in the best condition.  Then it will be on to paint removal and body removal so I can start tackling the frame and suspension.