Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Too disgusted today to work on the truck. Got the bill from hospital for my Christmas day trip. Just shy of $600 for the privilege of sitting in the waiting room for several hours, then sit in another room for what seemed like several more hours, to finally be seen for about 15 minutes and be told it was an allergic reaction which with my face swollen like a melon I already knew. According to the paper it is only one of several bills I will be getting. The doctors apparently send out their own invoices. Next time I will have to be unconscious to get me there because I will never willingly go again. The only reason I went to begin with was every other place was closed because of the holiday and since the swelling was so great I wanted to make sure it was not going to affect my vision. I would not do well with no hearing or vision. Sorry for the rant but damn

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Thanks Mark

Don't make my head swell any, as evidenced in my last post, I can't take no more of that :lol:

So far what I have done I really think anyone could tackle, honestly. The test will be if everything goes back together right. It can look purdy all day long in pictures but not be worth a hoot if the doors don't shut and the fenders won't go back on. I am hoping to find out how close I am on that front real soon though.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

I feel for you Richard, I sat in the waiting room for six hours. When all was said and done they billed for ten hours and all I got was five stitches. They billed me for every minute from the time I got there until I left. X ray and the stitches were extra...... $1400 in total.....absolutely. #$@/ing ridiculous. ...

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Finding it hard to believe that I have not touched the panel since Christmas. Between being sick most of January along with weather I have just not felt like messing with it. Hoping it warms back up here soon so i can work out there without using 2 gallons of K1 an hour to stay warm. The torpedoes are comfy but expensive. The end of last year I was thinking this might be the year I get to have it all back together but not so sure now. Not gonna rush it just to do it though, wanna do it once and be done so I can move on to other projects.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

It's ok to take a break from a big project for a while sometimes. Sorry about the hospital visit. They really get you coming and going.

Paul

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Thanks Paul. I really want to get back to work on it soon. I think i have everything I need to get the body finished then I am going to have to shell out for the new wire harness and so on.

That hospital visit on Xmas day ended up at an almost even $1k between ER bill and doctor bill for about 20 minutes of actually being seen, a steroid shot and a prescription for benedryl. Absolutely insane.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Good evening Richard,
I hope all is well with you and yours. I just thought I would check in and see how things are.
HO455

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Things are different but yet remain the same. Our governor, lock down Larry forced me to lay off both of my employee's due to this so called pandemic. It has forced me to come up with creative ways to stay in business. As a lot of you know, i lost my hearing about 10 years ago so I kept 2 people on staff to be one on one with the customers as well as be drivers for my trucks that required DOT physical cards. Since that has not been an option over the last several months I have had to make some drastic changes but all of which have worked out very well so far. 1st thing was I needed a truck that did not require a dot card so I took my personal dually and outfitted it with the 1st boom I ever bought when I went in business in 95'. Added a small winch for lifting small signs and can still use it with the bucket. Bought some square tube and made a flat bed for the back to be able to haul signs as well since I can't pull a trailer legally for commercial purposes.I also snuck a quick trip to PA to pick up a van with a bucket on it for $800 that i am going to put back in service as well. For the money I can afford to do the repairs it needs. It is all a load of crap but one I have to deal with to stay in business. Still have a few minor things to finish up but it is getting the job done. All in all I think it is all going to work out better for me, just not something I was looking forward to doing. The down side is it has left me no time to work on any of the projects up until now. Things are starting to level off some so i am hoping to get back to the panel in the next month or so. Thanks for asking, hope all is well on your end of the world as well.
Richard

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Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

That looks like a pretty slick set up you've put together. You sound like the proverbial one armed paper hanger.
The old lady had her hip replaced on the 4th so I've been off work this month but she's doing well enough now I'll have to go back to work on the 27th. Other than that it's been the new normal.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Today I was the one armed sign hanger . Took the truck out on its maiden voyage to install a new sign for the local school. I installed a wired remote on the boom so I can run it from the ground without having to be up on the truck. That way I can control the sign by myself while it is in the air. I made the control box from some scrap aluminum I had sitting here. Here is a pic of the remote box as well as the sign it helped install today. Everything worked out real well.

Instead of having to put a hydraulic pump on the truck engine I went with an 11hp electric start honda with a 2 stage pump to run the boom. The entire structure is modular as well so if I need to take it off for some reason it is just 4 bolts and a battery power wire and it comes right off the truck with my big boom truck.

Speedy recovery for your wife as well.

Richard

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Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Nice work on the duellie. Hats off to you!!

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Impressive!

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Thanks Guys

it is amazing what you can come up with when the cards are stacked against you

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Hard to believe it has been 2 years sitting on the lift with nothing done. Working by myself all this time has made for no time to do other things. At one point I could not even get within 5 ft of the panel due to all the crap that has piled up. Spent the last month getting things back organized somewhat so I can get back to work on it. Bought me some motivation the other day now that I wont be able to afford the gas for it. :lol:

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Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Good to see that.:metal:

I am just jump out of the same boat:lol:

Maybe I can move forward also.;)

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Looks like a stout mill. Happy to hear your back on it sir!

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Well change of plans........ I got a lot of projects here and made the decision to table the panel in favor of the 72 original paint Blazer. With the amount of metal work I have left to do to this it is still quite a while out before the motor would ever be fired up. I repurposed an old welding cart I had laying out back to mount the panel body on so i could free up the lift and get the blazer cracking.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

WoW Richard :lol:

We must be Brothers from a Nother mother.

I swap and Add projects and (All that good stuff) adjust as the Requirements Allow;)

I like that Cart you Built:metal:

Are you going to add supports in case the tires go flat:)

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

Adapt and overcome right? :lol:

I am going to keep an eye on the cart for a few days and see what it does but I am most likely going to jack it up and place blocks under the cart so no pressure on the wheels at all. After all they are 20 year old harbor freight wheels that have been sitting outside for 10 and 5 of that were flat. I was actually surprised that they held air still :lol:

My buddy is coming over this morning to help me get the body separated from the blazer frame. I can and have done it by myself but it is nice with a 2nd set of eyes and he offered the help.

Re: My 1st 68 panel
 

It is good to have Friends to Help:chevy: