The entire cab inside and out was painted the same day. After unmasking everything the truck was rolled outside only to discover the paint on the dash was too thin and needed more coats. Many additional hours of masking ensued before the problem was corrected.
With the fuel fill hole in the body eliminated a new tank was next up on the priority list. Since the truck was going to be a long distance commuter I wanted the biggest tank that would fit in the space without hanging down too far. The dimensions resulted in a 33 gallon tank. Rock Valley built it to spec with very heavy end walls and built in mounting brackets, eliminating the need for straps.
This photo shows the old exhaust system exited directly into the tank. The muffler was cut off and a pair of $10 glasspacks were clamped in place for the ride to a local muffler shop for new pipes (not shown).
The gas tank mounting brackets can be seen in this shot:
Moving under its own power again, back outside for a photo update:
Now that it was self propelled again, the glass guys came out and installed a new windshield. I attempted to reinstall the damaged original, and both cracked the glass and failed to get it mounted. This is the only vehicle in which I was not capable of installing the windshield. It took 3 guys to get it done.
This shot shows that at one point the truck was equipped with both a deluxe heater and a radio.
Some of these shots are obviously out of sequence because the next photos still show the Lokar shifter in place.
