[bobs409]

So in addition to working on those last pieces for the boom, I’ve been putting the truck back together almost daily with all the little do dads. While some things fall into place, others can be a real PITA! Take the door seals for example. I spent about 2 full days on just those!

I spent a lot of time getting the doors and fender aligned perfectly during the body work stage but after installing the new seals, the doors would barely shut. !@#$!

I’m not new to this as I have 2 other Chevy trucks and I know it’s common with these seals but the time it ate up is just a good example of why it’s taking so long to complete this project. How anyone in the body/mechanical field can give an estimate to customers and stay on schedule is beyond me. It just seems like something that should take 10 minutes ends up taking a full day! Ok, venting done.

Now back to the doors. First I tried adjusting the front of the doors outward which certainly helped but then I had to move the fenders out to match and I realized the cowl panel had too much gap between it and the fender tops so I moved all back in. I took the seals out to visually check the gap between door and jam and it looked real good and was even all around.

I got the idea of swapping seals from side to side and that really helped. Is there a left and right? I guess there is. ?? Doing that with a slight adjustment to the striker plate got them to close fully. You have to be firm with them but they do shut. I suspect time will ease this.

So with those in and a pair of shiny stainless steel sill plates completing the job, it’s another item crossed off the list.

Because this is a Custom/30, it originally came with the chrome wing windows. Unfortunately, they were shot and new ones are over $200 a piece! Quite a few years ago while on one of my junkyard ventures, I came across a low mileage panel truck that had beautiful chrome wings in it. I scored those for $8 bucks each (lol) at the pick n pull and put them in my 69 step side. I decided these would be better suited for this project so I raided them from the step side. All I had to do was to switch out the clear glass for the original tinted pieces and install them.

Because this is a 1 ton truck, it came with the roof clearance lights. The original lenses were toast and unfortunately those orange lenses are not available except in NOS form but I wasn’t interested in spending a C note to get them. I learned that step side back up light lenses fit so 5 new ones were installed. The only downside is they are clear but with orange bulbs will work just fine for now. Sometimes you have to improvise. (see pic #1)

For the past few weeks, I’ve been getting the last remaining parts done to complete this project. For some reason, it seems like everything is taking FOREVER! Luckily, the weather has been fantastic which as been a big help.

First up was the upright piece for lack of better words. This piece is important not only for eye appeal but everything attaches to it. This piece was taken to bare metal, then POR 15 applied, an etch prime followed by some smoothing with icing and then a coat of high build primer. Once all done, it was wet-sanded out until nice and smooth! (see pic #2)

The same process for the toolbox and some smaller parts. (see pic #3 & #4)

The parts are in the painting stage in the last pic. Note the home made hanging rack. That engine crane (under the brown tarp) has many uses!