This is going to change shortly, because I do need to take it apart once more, but this time I will be doing so with intent.<\/p>\n
That intent will be final preparations for paint. I\u2019ll be touching up the door jambs and panels I replaced myself, but the firewall, roof and dash will be done professionally.<\/p>\n For all it\u2019s trouble COVID-19 has produced several productive garage sessions simply because there wasn\u2019t much outside my garage that was acceptable or safe given the circumstances. Garage nights provided a secluded escape from a world that was spinning itself off axis.<\/p>\n Bumpers, doors, and hoods were put on and removed several times over in the name of test fitting.<\/p>\n A rather pleasant result of Project Why Wait looking like a truck is that my son Ash has started to express a real interest in it.<\/p>\n I mean it\u2019s been around for the majority of his life, but it\u2019s always been just an idea. An abstract thought yet to be proven.<\/p>\n When the front end, doors and steering wheel came into play however he really started to come around and realize what I was doing in the garage, besides making a mess.<\/p>\n A few weekends ago he<\/em> suggested we go in the garage and take a few pictures. The last time his work appeared on this site was two years ago<\/a>, so I was all for it.<\/p>\n Seeing the project through his eyes was really quite interesting. Things I stress over every time I shoot the truck (like dust) he paid no mind.<\/p>\n Components I take for granted he found intriguing. Take my water pump. There\u2019s nothing inherently special about it, but Ash took several photos of it.<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t able to really express why<\/em> he liked the water pump, just that he did. Water pumps are<\/em> pretty important so who am I to tell him they\u2019re not particularly interesting?<\/p>\n To him the Hooker cast manifolds looked like spider legs, so there you go, a photo of the manifold. Glad I got new hardware.<\/p>\n He also took a photo under the (just above the transmission tunnel) because \u201cI can\u2019t see it too well\u201d.<\/p>\n The photo above was staring back at him in the view finder and his curiosity seemed satisfied, at least for now.<\/p>\n When I said yes his face instantly lit up.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eoffer.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sie-gmc-ash-update-17.webp\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>This means the truck, has looked like a truck for longer than it ever has in my ownership.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>As a conceptual pile<\/del> collection of parts Ash never formed much of a connection with the it.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>In general he spent a lot of time poking his camera around under hood. But, again, not having any of the preconceived notions we have about what\u2019s \u2018cool\u2019 within an engine bay, he took photos of anything that caught his eye.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Bolting up the steering wheel had the largest impact on how he interacted with the truck. He\u2019ll now happily spend a few minutes pretending to drive while I tinker away at a minor tasks.<\/p>\n<\/a>Ash\u2019s new found interest in the project really cements in my mind that this project was the right project for my family.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>With school around the corner he asked if, when finished, I could take him to school in the truck like I occasionally do in my \u201cregular\u201d car.<\/p>\n<\/a>If that\u2019s not motivation I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n