[brossow]

Been almost three years since the last update. Since then, the only things that have happened are:

1. Some friends helped me lift the bed off last summer so I could do some suspension work that never happened.
2. Friday I finally put the bed back on by myself, having given up on the suspension work for the time being, and even bolted it down (arrived at my house unsecured).
3. Yesterday I got the exhaust bolted on, such as it is. The truck arrived with two intermediate pipes and mufflers in the bed. I assumed they had been on the truck previously and had been removed for some reason, but after struggling to get them reinstalled, including having to remove the tranny crossmember and jack on the driver's side intermediate pipe to the the crossmember jack into place, I now think they must have come from another donor. Bottom line is that at least temporarily it's not running straight out the exhaust manifolds, which should make for happier neighbors when I have to move it around.

Not sure what will become of it in the short term. Barely moves under its own power (tranny is either nearly empty or nearly kaput -- haven't checked the fluid yet) and smokes like crazy when it runs for more than a minute (thanks, I hope, to bad valve cover gaskets that are easily replaced), but at least now I can move it without fear of the bed sliding off or having the cops over because of a noise complaint. May not be much progress, but it's better by far than when I bought it.