The 'Bee took on a whole new look recently. You have to see it to believe it:
As of July 18, here is how it looks. I still need to do some bodywork on the cab and roof, but it's looking much better. All this is temporary anyway. Note the different shades of yellow- I couldn't find a yellow bright enough in gloss, so I had to use matte.
Things aren't looking so good for the 'Bee right now. Monday night, I rolled it on its passenger side after losing control in a turn. I did a 180, hit and jumped a median into oncoming traffic (nobody was in my path luckily) and landed on the passenger side. Nobody was hurt (always wear your seatbelts!), but the 'Bee wasn't so lucky. I ruined a fender and door, the bed is beat up but definitely not in bad shape, lost some trim and also a tailight. The windshield busted as well, but the worst damage was the cab- it split open along the seam above the rear window. That will require some welding, and I've been thinking of just turning it into a custom extended cab. I was absolutely heartbroken after six years of hard work, but I only have myself to blame. Seeing it on its side was sickening, but it will be back in full force. Besides, the paint needed a little freshening anyway. Stay tuned for more updates, and oh yeah- the lift looks like it will need to be postponed AGAIN!!!
June Repair updates: I pushed/pulled the cab back into shape and replaced the windshield. Not too hard, but the roof is still split. My bro' and I also fixed the front fender and bed and primed/painted them yellow. The cab is primered but still needs some work. From far away, you can barely tell, especially with the trim back on. Won't be long before it's finished. The only work required to drive it again was a topping off of the fluids and replacing the windshield. No biggie. Check out the pics I took the day after the wreck- it looks so much better now!
Believe it or not, I never wanted to drive it. Before I got my license, I wanted nothing more than a '63 Nova hot rod with a 502, 30" slicks, nitrous, etc.. I was also into lowriders and VW's! However, once I discovered the joys of four-wheeling I was hooked. Four-wheeling got into my blood and now I don't think I could ever go without at least some transfer case equipped vehicle.
This truck has been the biggest pain in my ass, seeing as how the only work done to it by somebody besides myself was the paint. It constantly requires some kind of maintenance or overhaul, and I am always working on it. Actually, since I've been riding my motorcycles, I've had less time to break stuff on the 'Bee, but it's still always under construction. In fact, just in the span of one week a while back my fan clutch froze up, my master cylinder gave out, and my battery died. A week later, my battery died again, my brakes were still acting weird, my u-joints had to be replaced, and I had to get new shocks. Before the wreck, the brakes were still very spongy and the valve stem seals had started leaking. But, as they say, "Real trucks are built, not bought." The work seems well worth it whenever I get a compliment on it- it just SUCKS at the time!
On the next five pages, I will detail the buildup and everything else I can document. Enjoy...
Circa March '73 in Logomarsino Canyon, and on the way to Virginia City.
Note the stock wheels haven't been replaced by the Mags yet.
