Where He's Been

And...while I was in the office with the music blaring and homework stealing all my attention, Andy was in the shop making some serious progress on the Dodge! The pic above is from March '07 when we shortened the bed and really started dreaming about this project. The pic below is of the next mock-up, right before its first show. It has been chopped and a few essential parts added....like an engine!!
On the list of things to get done, was the bed. The body of it had been waiting around since we shortened nearly 2 years ago, and it was time to complete it. Andy started with some body mounts - to bolt it to the frame in the correct position.
Then, a sub-frame was added to support the floor.
Then a tailgate was fabricated and the floor cut and placed over the subframe. Take note of the back section of the bed...
The bed is done! Recessed fuel tank, Hidden box with a hinged lid for tools, battery, etc., sturdy tailgate...all looking great. Not sure yet if the tank will function, but betting on it!
Next up: the cab! This shows the sub-frame for the floor, including the middle section for the tunnel. Since the truck is channeled, the drive line runs right thru the cab instead of under it, and needs to be covered up!
This photo also shows the steering. Lots of thought went into this part of the build, since the fit is very snug where the steering box has to go. With a little manipulation, it worked out.

Once the sub-frame was in place, it was time to figure out the sheet metal for the floor itself. Under where the seats will be, it's pretty straightforward, but in the foot space (toe board area)...! It's a puzzle! The trick is to start with a template - in this case, poster board and masking tape.
Then, you take one triangle (or whatever shape) piece off at a time, trace it onto the metal, cut it out, and tack weld it into place. And, if you have patience and some skill, you turn the puzzle into this!
The work done in these photos was all Andy's doing, but Forrest has been coming over almost weekly to help as well. They worked together on the steering problem and installed the rear suspension (pics will be in the next Dodge update) and mulled over much of the build.
Thursday night, I went out to check on the progress and found them "testing it out"....