Well, (deep subject) Bill Klingler and his crew have been toiling away on the Hussy for several weeks. First, they shaped the rear fenders and now they look nice and fat. Next they got all the rust off the bed and primed it. Then they started on the front fenders. The first clue of things to come was when Bill wanted to know what all the holes were for.

It seems that there were holes in the inner fender panels that didn’t match to anything. And there were holes in the fenders that were not aligned with anything. Bill was curious. Was he missing something? Did I know something he should know? Were there some drawings he could look at? How about this guy that had the other 40 Ford pick-up. Could he look at that one?

My answers were: Probably not. No, I think I told him everything. I’d check, but I hadn’t been able to find anything in the past. Sure, call Don Day. He’s a real neat guy.

So I get back from our trip to Idaho and there’s a call from Bill. He really didn’t want to bother me. The front fenders were OK now, but he had some questions about the hood and mounting the cab.

Now let’s get something straight. The last thing Bill is is a bother. He is a very bright and competent guy. He’s no novice to working on strange car bodies. And the guys who work with him are no dummies either. But I don’t think they’ve been up against a Henry Ford fat fender before. There aren’t any books on body work on these early Fords. Lots of books on engines, brakes, electrics, frames, etc. But body stuff – nope! And to make matters more interesting, body things in the 39’ to 41’ era changed at irregular intervals with no data on who, what, when, where, or interchangeability. Sometimes a 39’ grille will match to a 40’ nose piece and sometimes it won’t. And to add insult to injury, she’s called the Brazen Hussy because she’s been in so many different guys’ hands and who knows what the hell they did to her.

Sorry Bill, I don’t know all the answers. I think we’re gonna have to fake it as best we can.

Some things were easy. They got the hood to fit real nice, but when you lifted it up and then brought it down, it didn’t always go back to where it belonged. Maybe the hinges were loose. Easy! Sac Vintage Ford has replacement hinges – at an outrageous price – but they did have them in stock. Hood fixed!

Some things weren’t easy. For instance, the hood latch and the safety catch. How did they mount? Were all the pieces there? Why didn’t the hood ornament cover the safety release knob? That knob looks kind of geeky stand out there by itself. These weren’t so easy. The longer release arm wasn’t long enough, so Drake made a new one. Clevis pins to attach the arm were harder to come by, but eventually we got them. Welding in the old latch body to the new grille worked well, but covering the safety release knob will probably mean a new part will have to be made.

Mounting the cab to the frame was one of those “choose your poison” things. Three oak blocks are fitted between the cab and the frame on each side. Some people just bolt the cab and blocks to the frame. Some people put some rubber between the cab and the blocks; and some put the rubber between the blocks and the frame; and others do both. Or you can use special anti-squeak webbing in place of the rubber. Do you cut the blocks to account for the thickness of the rubber or webbing? Let’s try it and see how the fenders and running boards fit. I think consulting a mystic might help.

And then there was the problem of getting the rear fenders to center on the wheels. Drake and I had really worked on this issue, but in remounting the cab, front fenders and hood, things shifted. So the bed had to go forward a tad. And the correct height of the bed had to be considered. Not only did the bed have to fit under the cab decoration, which meant it had to go down, but it also had to be level – can’t have a broken back here. (A ‘broken back’ is where the bed tilts so that when you look at it from the side, in relation to the cab, it seems as if the truck has a broken back.) Of course, all of this meant that the bed mounts had to be redone. Again, Drake and I had pretty much solved these issues, but now they were different and adjustments had to be made.

And then there was the problem of fitting the running boards to the frame and then to the rear fenders. The spacer that Drake had welded to the running boards was now too long and had to be cut. And the rear fenders didn’t match up to the running board, so something was going to have to be done there.

And Bill wants it right. “It’s gonna be a show truck!” he says. Sure – it’s going to be the only show truck in town that goes to the dump and hauls a horse trailer. But hey, I’m up for it.

It has to be admitted – the luck of George Paige is still running good. First it was Drake Palmer, then Lanny Netz, and now Bill Klingler. If these guys, and the crews that work with them, weren’t around, ye olde writer would be still sitting in a pile of rusty parts tearing out what little hair he still has. A solution always seems to be at hand - or in many hands - but eventually it is there. And so far, every answer, every solution, is an excellent one. The work Bill has done on the truck is gorgeous, and he promises that the best is yet to come.

That brings me to the voting. It seems that Bill has this crew of guys who help/hang around. And they toss out ideas. And then they vote. So when I came back from Reno’s Hot August Nights and told Bill I’d given up on the two tone green plan and had decided on black fenders and running boards, with a green hood, cab and bed, he only blinked a couple of times and said, “OK!” But the next time I came around, he gave me this sly look and said, “Black and green is OK, but we voted – the black fenders should have ghost flames - of course, you get the final decision.” But that’s not all - he’s been checking out all of those hot new paints. And do I really want green – how about a metallic purple? And Bill’s crew hasn’t voted yet.

I’m thinking! I’m thinking! Ghost flames would look pretty hot on my show truck at the dump. The new paints – well, I’m open to that too. And Claudette really likes purple. Plus, Bill and the guys are talking about painting the horse trailer – and I haven’t even got the trailer yet. What in the hell have I gotten myself into?

So here we are Ray. I understand from a guy down at Vintage Ford that he brought his 34’ or 36’ around to your place so that you could check his hood against the hood on your 36’ five window. Hmm, maybe you’ve arrived at the same place I’m at. And maybe a whole bunch of guys have been there too. I sure hope they have been as lucky as we’ve been. And I sure hope that they had as much fun as we’re having.

[TOP]