[hgs_notes]

Next step mechanically is to get the rear axle regeared. I bought another posi carrier and set of 4.10 gears.

For now though I don't need 4wd. Instead I did a couple cosmetic things. A friend gave me a drop hitch bumper. It was bent/twisted because some welds broke and the weight of the load twisted it. The welds were crap. Half inch plate that had a tiny little fillet welds. No penetration. When I dropped off the wheels for powder coating I asked them about the cost of doing the bumper and if they could straighten it. They wanted to give it a shot. Their welding wasn't great looking either but it was substantial anyway. It came out pretty decent. I've never seen one that wasn't chrome. This one was too before coating. But I love the look matching the wheels.

And the other thing was getting a little paint on the sides of the truck where the stripe was. I just went over it with the random orbital and rattle canned it. Just got the driver side done so far. The silver tailgate definitely needed to change. It had a little rust hole on the bottom left so I did a patch on it first. Then rattle canned it too. I'll do regular automotive paint once rust repair is done, whenever that happens. It needs rockers, maybe cab corners, some patches behind the rear wheel wells, and at least 1 cab support.

I'm really happy with how it's looking now though. Black and white is always in style.