This week I am off from work for a bit of a summer vacation. I don't have any travel plans and hope to spend some of these days making some progress on the roadster. I need to start pulling pieces from the frame so that I can clean it up and eventually paint it. The frame is covered in a thick coating of grease, dirt, and road grime. Although there is some flakes of rust, overall the frame is very solid.
This morning I began by removing the driveshaft. The driveshaft transfers the engine's rotating motion from the crankshaft through the transmission back to the differential, which then spins the rear axel and tires. The driveshaft is connected to the transmission and the differential by four bolts at each end.
I removed all four of the bolts using a 12 mm wrench and a 12 mm wratcheting wrench to loosen the nuts. Then I dropped that end of the driveshaft, which is hinged at each end allowing it to pivot out of the way.
Here is a shot of the end of the differential where the driveshaft mates to it.
Next I proceeded to the connection between the driveshaft and the transmission. It was connected by four of the same-sized bolts.
I removed all four of the nuts and bolts using two 12 mm box wrenches. Below, right is a picture of the transmission where the driveshaft connects.
Then the driveshaft was entirely removed. I put it aside for cleaning and painting. The shaft actually is composed of two pieces that slide together with groves and teeth to prevent one section from spinning on the other.
