Lee-
I've just read this entire thread, great work! I have a question-
With so many projects of this size, in a shop this (relatively) small, some taking hours, some taking months, and sometimes with components going to other shops, how do you keep track of all the parts to get them back on same unit? There must be literally hundreds of nuts/bolts/washers etc. not to mention every little wire, hose and clamp that has to go on at the right time in the right place. Also there are all the tins that came off before washing, and the large parts like buckets and blades that get left off in the yard. Disorganization could create a jigsaw puzzle that would take days to figure out.
On top of that, sometimes things go wrong and a different guy has to put it all back together!! Just the logistics of this part of the project are overwhelming, and we haven't even rebuilt the engine (or trans) yet!!