While the kids played in the yard, inside with the Lego-Batman Wii game, or in the shop (carefully!), I layed under the truck threading nearly a hundred nuts on the bed's carriage bolts. It was a tedious two-man job so it was nice to have someone to help me out by holding the tops still.
Warren also shaved some clips we needed for the front Windshield moulding, by running them against the grinding wheel. Unfortunately, although these replacement plastic clips looked like the would work, they still wouldn't hold the moulding as tightly as did the original clips. Below is the clip, in it's receptacle (without the moulding):
Back to the drawing board with this one!
The side rail bolt holes still needed to be drilled through the bed wood pieces. After drilling, I brushed in some clear lacquer to provide protection to the wood. As you will sometimes find, the supplied bolt kit came with some incorrectly included fasteners. In this case there where carriage bolts of a larger size, which didn't fit anywhere, necessitating another trip to the bolt supply store - thanks Warren!
As is often the case with car/garage guys, the next generations get indoctrinated into the car and truck culture early! Even though the owners of this beauty don't have their own garage, memories will be forged by having them come in and take part - or play - while this one is being restored. I know first-hand what it's like to have fond memories of seeing vehicles built my Dad and plaing in the shop, so I always encourage people to bring their own kids - and family members - around as the project progresses.
The owner's grandson Alex has the red hat, while my own son, Colt is in the blue jacket. As you can tell by their attire, it's winter in Saskatchewan!
Checking lug nuts....
As I've said before - it's all in the details. Can you spot the addition?
We put it back on the hoist to get the last items buttoned up. I still need to bleed the brakes, tighten a few more fasteners, wire up the taillights and get the engine broken in - all the fun stuff! One thing is certain: it's easy to rush it out at this point. The customers are excited, it looks finished and I have other projects to move on to. But it's imperative to take some time here and get everything done and done right. The last thing anyone wants (especially me!) are minor annoyances, like a tailight that won't work or a loose trim piece, that detract from the 300 hours of hard work that went into the build.
Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! Special thanks to www.Eastwood.com and www.CarCraft.com !
