Making Some Progress

[DocsTruck]

Went to the cabin last Friday and spent the day and Saturday working on the truck. The first thing I did was remove the windshield and clean up more broken glass. I was very happy to see that the windshield frame was not damaged at all so new glass will go right back in nicely. Now I just need to find a company to install a new windshield and gasket. The gasket had the chrome looking bead lock and I don't know if those are made anymore, searching comes up with an all black. I noticed that the bottom of the windshield frame is black which tells me that the dash must've been painted after being installed in the truck, pretty neat seeing this stuff that was last seen when the truck was built.
Next up, I carefully removed the headliner and vacuumed all the golden peanut brittle looking insulation, made a scraper out of a plastic light switch faceplate taped to the end of my shop vac and scraped what I could off of the ceiling.
Saturday, I removed the seat and discovered a tag inside the bottom section that was put there when the seat was made, apparently by the Milwaukee Bedding Co. Pretty cool, didn't find a build sheet though.
Once I had the seat out, I then used a 10 ton porta power set and started pushing dents. I think it went really well. I did as much as I could for that day and buttoned it all back up. We had rain all day Sunday and Today, (Monday), so I wasn't able to work on the roof any, but plan on getting back at it Thursday through the weekend. The tricky parts are going to be the part over the driver's door and the passenger corner. Those are areas that I cannot reach with the porta power due to the inner panels being in the way. I don't want to remove the inner panels and will get creative to work around them. Hope you guys like the progress!!!

[DocsTruck]

A few more pics.

[Hobcobble]

Good work.

John

[DocsTruck]

Thanks so much. I have never done anything like this although I do work in the automotive industry, but I do body prep before paint for Kia and ya know vehicles today are nowhere anything like they used to be. These trucks are built from some real steel and that is what kept the damage from being totally a write off kind of thing. I have never done body work type of stuff either but I feel that I know enough about dents and metal that I think I can get it close to back to normal. The fact that the windshield frame wasn't damaged at all is very encouraging, a new windshield could go right in but I want to get the metal work done before that happens. I am really thinking that I can get things close, it won't be perfect like before, but close and I will do my damndest to get it back as close to perfect as possible. Thank you for the encouragement.

[wally426ci]

Are you on Facebook? There is a guy with a roof section in California; just posted and I think it is $150

[Txas2step]

Are you on Facebook? There is a guy with a roof section in California; just posted and I think it is $150

You beat me to it Shawn.

[Wildergarten]

Are you on Facebook? There is a guy with a roof section in California; just posted and I think it is $150

LOL, there's another guy in California with a whole small window cab with glass and door hardware (no fenders) for $250.

That would be me. It's sitting in an almost cherry longbed trailer with the bed for $500 more.

[DocsTruck]

Thanks guys.

[DocsTruck]

Well guys I'm not on Farcebook, lol, but dang that cab top looks good. I actually know where there are a few Sweptlines sitting in a field locally, but thanks for looking out.

[cudaboy]

That truck sure is clean ! You're doing great !

[DocsTruck]

Thanks. Went to start the truck up the other day and she just didn't want to crank up. After checking things, disconnected the coil wire and the fuel line at the in line fuel filter. I then put the fuel line over into a bottle and cranked on her and wasn't getting any fuel pumping into the bottle. I replaced the fuel pump, some fuel line, fuel filter and got a new battery. After installation of the fuel pump, I tested it all out and now fuel was pumping into the bottle. I connected everything back up and she fired right up and ran very well. Tomorrow, my son and I are changing the rear wheel cylinders to get the brakes working again and so we can safely move the truck. I will keep it at the lake, but we are having a couple of trees cut down next week so, moving the truck and I moved my Hobie Cat. After the trees are cut down, a new slightly larger carport will be installed. I will feel better about things once the truck is back under a cover. Right now, with no windshield in it, I am using a tarp to cover the cab and have it secured and then cover the truck with the cover that was on it.
Thanks too all for the support and advice. So far, so good. Stay tuned.

[DocsTruck]

Well, the plans for that following day sure did get changed. Wednesday morning we had to take our toy poodle, Bentley, to the vet. He was fine Tuesday morning but mid day had started throwing up clear liquid/mucous, had diarrhea and wouldn't eat. He would drink water but still continued to throw up the stuff throughout the day. Wednesday morning my daughter and I took him to the vet and we had bloodwork done and several things were really out of whack and showed signs of kidney failure. The vet kept him for the day and put fluids in him and gave him a shot to sooth the nausea. He has been on a heart med and diuretic since January, and the vet tried to give him his meds but he couldn't keep them down. So we picked him up Wednesday evening so he could be at home since no one was going to be at the vet overnight, and the vet wanted to see him the following morning. Thursday morning comes around after a long night of watching him and being with him and my daughter and I take him back to the vet and I request an x-ray to rule out any blockage in his system and stomach that might be causing this issue. By now, the mucous he continued to throw up had a slight brownish tinge to it indicating some digested blood. The x-ray showed a tumor in his stomach and his intestines were empty of any gasses. My boy was suffering and had been having difficulty walking the night before, and every time he was picked up, he would throw up a little. Sometimes he threw up right after drinking water without even being touched, my Bentley was suffering. After speaking in length about what could be done, we didn't think he would survive a biopsy operation to see exactly what the tumor was, and he was so weak, that the decision was made to let him rest. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life.
My Bentley was 14 and half years old and was the sweetest little guy. He would lean into you giving what I called "poodle hugs" and was just the best boy ever. I swear he was the smartest little guy and just the best friend and companion ever. I have never had a dog that behaved like he did. We had him since he was a puppy and he was in our lives for over 14 years. He was special and it has been a very difficult process in saying goodbye. My kids grew up with Bentley, and we have a 5 year old Yorkie named Paisely who is also mourning as well. Bentley passed away very quietly and peacefully and was surrounded by his family. We laid him to rest in our backyard between a holly tree and a nice azalea. He was such a special boy and we miss him terribly and his brother Paisley misses him also. He was the Best Boy Ever. Rest in Peace Bentley.

[Jims68]

Sorry to hear about Bentley! We don't have any dogs, but we have two cats... both are 12 now and one has diabetes so needs a needle shot every night. But at least right now she is fat and healthy. But, in the long run, I know what is coming and think that it will be hard at some point. Best wishes to you and your family for your loss of a nice "pet".

[my5thmopar]

I know it’s hard. Our 17 year old lab/retriever died several years ago. Our pup 14 year old Bichon is slowly deteriorating now. The vet wanted to put her down April 17th but, we brought her home. She’s comfortable and apparently not ready to go. You’re probably a mess but, best wishes to your family.

[dodgeboykim]

Very sorry to hear about your furry family member. Our old girl is 14 and shes showing her age. Very sad time when they come to the end of their lives.

[Txas2step]

So sorry for your loss. Very hard losing a family member. Best wishes to you and family.

[DocsTruck]

Thank y'all so much for the condolences. I know it will take time and little by little it gets better. It really broke my heart the other day when I watched our 5 year old Yorkie, Paisley, walking around sniffing the wood floor in my den and he would lay in the exact spots where Bentley had layed down just the night before he passed. Bentley was a great big brother to Paisley, he had to adjust to the new puppy when we brought our Yorkie home, Bentley had been the only child for 9 years and then he has a new puppy brother and he adjusted well and they became the best of buds for sure. It was so funny to watch those little guys play. Paisley is mourning as we all are but I know we will all be okay. Thank y'all so much for the support.

[DocsTruck]

The pics of the boys were taken just a week before Bentley passed away. The pic of just him was taken the night before he passed away. I had stayed up with him and he was struggling to walk around in the den, he came over to where I was laying on the couch and wanted up there with me, I said okay boy let's watch some tv together, and I helped him up onto the couch and he got in his "spot" and was content for a few minutes. I took advantage of the moment and took the picture. He jumped back off the couch about 2 minutes later and layed in the floor. He was very restless that last night, couldn't get comfortable and was always moving to a different spot. It was a very long night for both of us, but I am glad that I took the picture of the last time we sat on the couch together.

[DocsTruck]

This is an example of what I was referring to with Paisley sniffing the floor and laying where Bentley had been.
The picture of Bentley was taken right after he left the couch that last night we sat on the couch together. You can see that Paisley layed in that same spot, he sniffed all around and just layed down right where his big brother had been just a couple of days earlier. Dogs have a unique way of just knowing.

[DocsTruck]

And in truck news...
Last Saturday my brother-in-law and his brothers helped me get the truck from the cabin. We are having a few trees removed and needed to move the truck, brother-in-law has a trailer so we used that. We took it to his place also because he has more parking there and is only 8 houses down the street from where I live also. Now I will be able to work on the truck without having to spend time driving to it. It is sitting next to his Grandfather's 1972 Ford pickup. When we got to his house, his neighbor next door was outside and asked if we needed any help, and he said he loved the blue color of my truck. It was funny, when the truck was on the trailer I had to get in and out of it through the driver's door window like Bo and Luke Duke.