The Deconstruction
begun on Sunday, October 12, 2003 With
a blown water pump and a defective choke, and cold weather setting
in, and another year's registration and insurance due, it was
decided that the old truck would be dismantled and its basic
form donated to charity.
The first step was unintentional. A piece of the door cracked during the
removal of the cd changer
Getting the original steel roof back onto
the truck was challenging.
It's kinda heavy and unwieldy.
Tuesday, October 14
The tedious stuff. Removing the hubcaps and trim rings. But it looked
too junky with bare rims, so the hubcaps were replaced
The spotlights and driving/fog lights were
removed The bumper bolts
were also loosened in preparation for its removal, yet to come.
Then all the vinyl and chrome trim was
removed. There was over a hundred
feet of chrome and vinyl along both sides. The chromed side exhaust
pipes were also scheduled for removal, but it is easier to remove
the rocker panels that they're attached to first, and that's
scheduled for next time.
The bumper/light bar is the section between the bumper ends. That had to
go next because there is a lot of lumber framing the 19"
extension that has to be removed along with the rear fenders.
So far, the body is intact. The truck still maintains its general character, even
without all the chrome and lights. Thursday is the next scheduled
work, and the fenders and panels will be removed and stored,
along with the truck's personality for the last five years.
Thursday, October 16
The grille is removed.
The bumper is removed.
The door panel is removed.
The upper rear fender is removed.
The front fender is removed.
There's not much left :)
There's still a lot of lumber to
remove from the rear. But that's for next time.
The original Ranger fenders and
grille are reattached. There are still "horns" sprouting
from the hood corners (they were added to match the contours
of the '56 Ford fenders)- they will be removed next time..
So it's now back to its original Ranger configuration, but with
the wooden support structure for the old outer skin still attached.
That will all be removed Friday.
Friday, October 17
Removing extraneous wooden pieces
Removing the glued-on "horns"
from the hood corners
Removing the rear fender extensions
... and the bed extension
Replacing the license plate
... and the taillights, gas filler
door and tailgate
And it's a sixteen-year-old Ranger
once again. Once donated, it will likely be further dismantled
for its still-working parts. It served us well.