Anyone who has removed an undamaged C3 front clip please help

This is on an '81. I know, most say don't remove the front clip unless its damaged and being replaced, but mine has some rust in the birdcage at the top edge of the fender, and the only way to properly address it is to take the clip off. I have it unbolted at the front, and the strip going across the top of the firewall is loose. Its also broken loose where it bonds to the firewall (inside the fenders), but it seems to be stuck around the sides of the cowl and at the top rear corner of the fenders. Any suggestions/pics of your removal? There must be some adhesive holding it that I'm not reaching.

Here's a quick pic from my 78 removal -- yes - you'll note some damage - cause i rushed the job a bit -- but may give you an idea of the fender/clip/birdcage tie in?


Hope there's some insight there!

Cheers - Jim

BTW here's another a tip -- use a heat gun to help soften the bonding agent - just short of the paint bubble-ing up!

This is a '68 but it might help to see where all the bonding points were. Not an easy job by any means, IMHO.

I have removed a couple with no damage, the trick is to use long putty knifes and go slow. If you start pulling on the glass it will crack.

There is a company named Liquitex that makes knives that are flexible, long and thin that you can work into the joint and then twist. They are sold in art supply stores.

http://pearlpaint.biz/liquitex_knife_L_Image.jpg

heat gun makes the factory adhesive soft so if you're having trouble, heat it and stick a knife through it. Careful use of wedges help too.

Thanks a lot guys, those pics and advice will be a great help! I have been using a heat gun (and a small propane torch in places) a putty knife, and a long, flexible old kitchen knife and seem to have gotten most of it, but there are still a few solid bonds in the cowl area that I must have missed. I'll see if I can find one of those Liquitex knives. Thanks so much, you've all been very helpful!

Got it! Thanks guys, all the advice and esp the pic helped a lot. I was close (didn't take long at all, maybe another hour), but not quite there. I had a fairly large kitchen knife with a flexible blade that, combined with my propane torch (being very careful!), finished it off. There was some minor damage along one of the bonding strips, a little at the top of the cowl (did that months ago, when I last worked on the car), and some minor damge on the LH rear fender edge. No big deal; I have plenty of fiberglassing to do anyway! The bottom pic shows some front end damage that I have already started grinding out; someone had filled the cracks with Bondo, and it was already cracking again.

A few more pics. Glad I pulled it; there was a ton of dirt and debris at the bottom of the cowl. I would have never felt right leaving it on. Now I can much more easily repair and modify the firewall. Its getting Vintage Air, and I'm considering going with Wildwood/Tilton style pedals (with 3 MCs), with the reverse mount so they don't stick out under the hood, so there will be plenty of holes being filled. I may even set the motor back a bit while I'm at it, to completely avoid any clearance issues with the water pump outlets and other accessories (going with an iron 6.0 block, probably with F-body accessories).

BTW, before someone asks I'm not storing a roll of carpet in the car...that is a roll of fiberglass matting that our roofer (a former boat builder from south FL) GAVE me...I could probably supply enough fiberglass to repair every project on this forum for the next 10 years!