Reaching the end

Anthony mixed up a final batch of beige paint and we painted the header from which the rear hatch is hung, and the new set of door hinges that I picked up after the welting that is vulcanized to them was removed accidentally.



We also shot the hard top sides, the headers for over the door ways, and the spare tire gate.

Glue

And speaking of Hector, he's been working to replace the brow on the drip rail. They decided to glue it into place instead of using the row of rivets. I had my doubts, but I expect that they know what they are talking about. You can see it clamped as the glue is setting up.

The piece comes from Cool Cruisers of Texas, and it fit beautifully.



The only rust we found in the top, apart from the drip rail, was a bit of surface rust at the rear corner of one of the side panels. Once we rough this up a bit, it will be ready to prime and paint.

On to the dreaded top

Trevor took out the myriad dents that were in the rear hatch after years of slamming it with something in the bed and is getting it ready to prime.


Probably the most difficult part of this project is working with the fiberglass cap on the hard top. It's riveted to a drip rail that goes around the cap and is in turn bolted to the sides of the hard top. It is dry and in need of some gel coating, and the steel drip rail is badly rusted. The brow must be replaced and refastened to the cap.

I'm glad Hector is doing this.