After some weeks of half owning this truck, hinging on trading some welding work for part of the payment, I finally own it and can now get back to my audio fixation. The owner was in/out of town and I had to coordinate a time to fit the project to his vehicles. To be honest, I would have rather just paid the cash difference and let him give it back when his project was done and freed up the truck. But this was through work and frig'n salesmen were involved and they are so afraid that touching cash will somehow erode "the deal."
I ended up working 2/3 days of Memorial Day weekend and another 11.5 hour day (the only day the owner had to do this or it would have been another month wait) to get these items fit, and under duress at that, which really takes all the fun out of custom work. I swear, the reality show model, where custom shops put 20 people on a mostly 'bolt-on' project to get the impossible done in record time has damaged the arts and custom work because now everyone expects this.
Either way, now I am strongly adding the stipulation to customers that state repeatedly, that it will get done in fair time or else I am not doing it and this is not China manufacturing or Walmart.
Anyway, it's home. There were minor cosmetic things to deal with but it's a great running/driving truck. Tires, brakes and transmission are new or rebuilt, new clutch and no oil leaks. It's been converted from an automatic to a manual, which took some doing, I am sure.
Yesterday, I addressed the stuffed up bumper and replaced it with an OEM. Also replaced the rubber pads on the foot pedals for the clutch (didn't have one) brakes and throttle.
Bought one of those pin stripe eraser wheels from 3M to get rid of the old ones that are faded and missing in spots. Will see how it looks without it. Either way, I have the same striping at our shop if I decide I like it better with.
I will either get the bull bar re-powder coated, or remove it. This is a 1999 and will be the newest vehicle I have ever owned. Just goes to show what a fossil I really am because this feels new to me. lol
