Restoration Process : The Dark Side

I am quickly discovering a pattern when it comes to working on this Willys => nothing is as simple as it first seems.

For example......

For the last month, with the help of the Master Mechanic, we have been trying to remove the front bumper of the 1957 Willys Jeep. It is a custom fabrication job, I want to remove it, clean it up and remount it on the 1960 Willys Jeep.

Simple.

Not really.

So after using a cutting torch and a Sawzall, 2 very powerful tools the bumper is still attached to the 1957 Willys, with no end in sight. A month has gone by, and it doesn't even seem loose, or ready to give up the fight. The picture is of one of several blades that met it's end at the hands of this fabricated bumper. One thing is for certain, the people who attached this bumper had made sure it would never come off.

So what is the plan? Not sure, a stronger blade, more torch cutting perhaps. But this has reminded me that the restoration process often has these "darker sides" to it. It is not always as simple as remove, replace, refinish. Sometimes the "remove" part does not want to cooperate.