Expunging the Exhause...and Rear Sub-Frame

It started out innocently enough.  I wanted to see if the finned exhaust nuts were going to come off without a fight.  I had been lubing them with penetrating oil for days and I now had the correct tool, so I figured everything was as ready as it was ever going to be.

I should mention that the various resources I have say you should be very careful when removing these things.  They are screwed directly onto the aluminum head and are notorious for seizing and taking the threads or worse off the head when removed.  My manuals actually advise removing them annually for inspection and a new coat of anti-seize.  I doubt mine have ever been removed.

I even went to the extra step of pouring boiling water over the nuts in a vain attempt to expand them ever so slightly.  It was hopeless.  I put my full body weight on the wrench and it didn't budge.  Not even Chrissy, who was helping, along with my brother, was able to loosen them.  It was instantly clear these things needed to be cut off.

In the process of trying to cut the nuts off, I bashed my leg into the rear sub-frame, so I determined it should be removed as well.  The result of that can be seen above.

Anyway, some quick Dremeling, hammering and chiseling snapped the first nut free.

In order to get at the left nut, we had to remove the "crash bar."  It's funny how removing two nuts can turn into so much more.
After removing the bar, we quickly checked to see if it could be unscrewed, but it was as firm as the other side, so the Dremel came out again.

With the nuts off, we unbolted the exhaust clamps and a few taps with the dead blow hammer released the exhaust assembly.

I am now ready to pull out the engine and transmission.