Living in Northern England one disadvantage of a pick-up is the weather, we get more cold and wet days than we do dry and sunny ones (don't believe everything you see on Downton Abbey
).
I'm a fan of the tri-fold type that you often see on modern trucks as they look traditional but are practical too. I looked but I couldn't find anyone who makes one to fit a classic truck. I measured up a few that were available for the Japanese trucks which are common in the UK but they were all the wrong size the nearest was a Nissan Navara which was still too short and too wide.
Like all good hotrodders, what you can't buy you have to make. While looking I had a real stroke of luck, the retail per cover is around £350 ($425) and I knew I'd need two. I was talking to a retailer one day and when I explained what I was doing he said he had a couple of covers where the packaging had been water damaged in transit, he couldn't sell them retail and the insurance had paid him out so he could sell me them really cheap. I bought three sold one and the remaining two owed me £39 (yes $47)
I stripped the covers off both frames and then built one from two, it had to be stretched 6" and narrowed by 5".
Refitting the cover was a bit of a head scratcher but with a combination of glue, staples and double sided tape I got it back together OK .
