Body & Paint

The “Beast’ is a long way from a ‘Beauty’ but, a little attention is bringing it along.  The original truck was black with a gold coloured wrap on the rocker level.  When the box was replaced, a red one was used, thus an imbalance in colour.  The previous owners solution was to wrap the lower half of the cab in a red (ish) wrap, and the top of the box in a black to create some semblance of a match.  I will remove the red wrap from the cab when I can, and see what things look like, then decide how to proceed.  I’m inclined to think painting the lower cab red, to match the box is as good a solution as any.  But, there is a ‘wrap’ being considered, which negates the need for anything other than ding and dent repair.

The original tail gate was missing completely.  I obtained a later model gate off a 2005 (?) with some dings of it’s own, and a smashed upper molding.  The yellow marker is the salvage identification of damage.  Long story made only slightly shorter, some quick paint touch-up, and a yet to be installed molding, and the tailgate looks great.  Note that the original gate did NOT have the SUPER DUTY in chrome letters.  The later model gate did NOT use the same pivot pins as the older style.  Well, almost.  The threaded body holes are the same, so by simply installing the body side bracket from the later year on the left side, the tailgate fits and functions perfectly.

Original Ford pain in this case is a base clear, so touch up is simple.  You can see if the side view of one of the ‘hips’ some areas of deeper colour.  This is where I have colour touched up through paint scrapes, and blended in with the clear.  After an appropriate drying time, I’ll blend it in with compound and it will be nothing but a bad memory.

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