Shop Truck!

I have a new shop truck! But I actually wish I didn't own this truck. That is to say, I wish the reason the truck was for sale had not turned out that way.

We recently lost a good man at church. John Veser, aged 62, succumbed to cancer after a hard fight. John was a really neat guy, in great physical fitness (he had more than one martial arts black belt), a sharp dresser, always engaged and active. He and his wife Pat joined us a few years ago, and quickly became beloved by all. We thought that if anybody could shake off cancer, it would be John, but it was not to be.

John Veser was also a very active member of the Lancaster Corvette club, and Pat wanted to have a group of Corvettes at the memorial service, led by John's 25th Anniversary Vette. Given the events of the past few months, it was no surprise that it didn't want to start, and John Zimmerman (whose 1963 Vette was 2nd in line at the memorial) asked if I would come over to Pat's with my jump-starter box. We quickly got John V's Vette going, and John Z took it to polish it - even though it was spotless and shiny!

While there, we got to talking about John V's old work truck - a 1988 GMC Sierra 1500 1/2 ton, regular cab, 8 foot bed. Knowing that John V was an extremely meticulous person, I  knew it would be in good repair. We cranked it, and it fired right up. A few days later I talked to Pat about it, and eventually bought it without ever driving it. 

Sure enough, it came with a little book that noted every bit of service John V had done in the 10 years he owned it. In that time, he only drove the truck about 5,000 miles, but that didn't stop him from doing a ton of maintenance - eight oil changes, a similar number of lube jobs, antifreeze flush and replace, wipers, air filters. All the stuff that I would normally do when buying a car was totally current! It even still had the owner's manual in the glovebox.

But, it was a work truck, and it has its share of warts. Both rear fenders are sporting that work truck rust-through, and one corner of the cab is rusted out too:

The hood has some peeling clearcoat, and the roof is (was, as you'll see) a scary mass of rust:

I gave the truck a thorough going-over, and all seemed well. There was a critter that tried to take up residence in the engine bay (presumably since the May 2014 oil change), but he didn't get too far on his nest before abandoning it:

I started my work on the truck with the tailgate, since it wouldn't latch. Friction actually was doing a fine job of keeping it closed, but I needed it to latch. I removed the latch handle, and found it was frozen. The time-honored method of alternating penetrating oil and brake cleaner, along with tapping it back and forth with a hammer, eventually freed it. Here's the latch, upside down - the raised arms with holes is where the rods attach to actuate the latches on either side. They are supposed to pivot on that big pin.

Honestly, I don't see this as a permanent fix, but it works for now. I already have another latch in my Amazon shopping list - less than 25 bucks.

There was a little plastic cover adrift under the hood. I've been experimenting with making thumbscrews on my lathe, and this was a perfect use for that skill. It took two different heights due to the design of the cover. The right picture shows the cover in place, with the thumbscrews on either side:

Then I had the nerve to tackle the roof. It seemed to me an immediate need, because once the roof rusts through, the truck is basically done. I've written about POR-15 on this blog before. It's an ultra-hard paint that is designed to be applied directly over rust. That's what I did. I prepped the roof with their "Prep and Ready" metal etching solution, and then painted two heavy coats on with a paintbrush:

Looks pretty good in this little picture, but it sort of looks like shiny 80-grit sandpaper up close! POR-15 is sensitive to UV light, so I'll have to paint over it. I think I'll use semi-gloss or matt black, just so it won't be so much shinier than the rest of the truck.

So, it's just what you would wish for in a shop truck. 4X4, long bed, ugly enough to carry anything without fear, but well-enough maintained that you can drive it anywhere. Rest in peace, John V. I started a new page in the little red notebook, noting the date and mileage when I bought it from Pat. I'll take good care of it.