It's empty...

It's been a while since I updated the blog so I guess it's about time...
Not a whole lot of what Andrea would consider progress. Many more parts in the living room and the basement though!
The big project was getting the gas tank out. It sounds simple enough doesn't it. Then you realize that to get the gas tank out you have to first remove the entire exhaust from the headers back, then remove the various guards and heat shields, then remove the drive shaft, drain the old gas from the tank, then finally you can remove the gas tank.
The bolts holding the exhaust downpipes onto the headers were extremely rusty and required a whole lot of heating with the torch before they'd come off - like half an hour of heating per bolt. It took me two weeks of evenings to get the damned thing off!
Thankfully the drive shaft came off relatively easily. Other than one black thumbnail (crushed it with a wrench) it was pretty painless.
I also removed the shift mechanism while I was under there. It's extremely worn and most of the parts will need to be replaced.
Now that the tank is finally out I can get a better look at it to see what sort of shape it's in. After an admittedly cursory inspection it actually looks to be in reasonable shape and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to repair/seal it pretty easily.