I had the big hammer out Saturday morning, along with the torch. But then I stopped myself. I had a thought that I had read somewhere about early or original CV joints that the boot ring was attached or pressed onto the CV joint itself and near impossible to get off. Of course I could not find that information again.
I figured that I could get the ring off with the big hammer but then I would end up needing to buy new boots.
So I opted instead to just cut the clamps off and leave the rings on the CV joints. It didn't really make a difference leaving them on, I was still able to clean and re-pack the joints. All 4 were 'attached' so I convinced myself that the boot rings were in fact attached and they were not just stuck on there from 40 years of oil and road grime.
BTW, I did read about using WD-40 to clean the boots themselves and that was spot on. They look brand new.
My 12 year old really enjoyed packing the joints with new grease and I am happy to report the tranny and axles are back in the car.
If I can get the fan shroud drilled and tapped for the coil bracket, and then painted I think I can get the motor back in the car, finally...
Really though, I would think time and patience with some elbow grease is the way to go. I have a hard time with things like this and I end up breaking things.