Back to the truck updates, once the stake pocket tie downs were removed, I started looking for an original set of bed rails, since we were in fact using the truck for dump runs of grass clippings every week. Having done the occasional search for authentic bed rails, expectations weren’t very high. Ultimately one of our forum members pointed me to the rails I ultimately installed. They’re identified as mini-tubes and are produced by Perry Craft. They’re very strong and completely fabricated from stainless steel, so they won’t peel and rust like originals:
I would still like to have an original set. I like the way the stand up taller and the stands are beautifully sculpted, but I’d never be willing to pay what a mint set would cost.
As winter set in it was time to reinstall the studded tires. Since I was bored with the black rally wheels, I reshot the wheels with Krylon Dull Aluminum.
If I didn’t already have mags, and if I could have afforded factory beauty rings, I could have been happy leaving these wheels on the truck. Without beauty rings, it looked too plain to me.
This picture was taken just after sunset. The sun had just gone down and the shot was taken with a timer and manual aperture control to keep the lens open for a long time. As mentioned earlier the Blitz Black paint is interesting to photograph because the resulting color is strongly influenced by different light levels.
And this was a test photo with the red metalflake gearshift knob. It’s very cool in real life and looks like a wet Lifesaver. I still prefer the blue one, because the red knob has higher transparency and shows the threaded interior portion of the knob more clearly.
Since I didn’t intend to use the truck much during the winter, it was subjected to outdoor storage for the first time since moving to the northwest. It was however intended to be well protected. A tent was erected alongside the house, the truck was covered with the indoor California Car Cover, and a space heater was kept on “frost watch” in the cab. The tent was anchored to concrete in 4 places and also to the truck.
One afternoon we pulled it out for a ride, and after it went back in the tent. The heater was put in position and the cover reinstalled. Unfortunately I didn’t tether the tent to the truck bumpers. Later that night we experienced one of our frequent severe winter storms. It blew roofs off buildings, collapsed some others, and ripped our tent free from the moorings and threw it over the fence into the front yard. Fortunately nothing hit the truck, and the tent couldn’t fly because there were too many straps still attached, but that was the last time the truck spent a night outside.