Bits and Pieces...

We've been working diligently on the trailer this week.   What have we finished?  Well, nothing.  We haven't actually "finished" anything.  We have worked on several things and we're making progress... just haven't "finished" anything this week. Progress is progress... and we're glad to be making some.  

Here's what we've been working on:

Brian got the old axle off

On Tuesday, the kids and I drove to Monticello, GA (about 2 hours away) to pick up or axle and mounting hardware.  Brian ordered it Thursday afternoon and it was ready to go pick up by Monday.  Wow.  It was so nice to be able to go pick it up instead of having to wait a few weeks.

old axle and new axle

Look Ma!  No wheels!

time to clean up the leaf springs...

Good as new...and shiny too!

Saturday, we tried to hunt down some shocks.   We went a couple of places and had people shake their heads at us.  Then, we went to Advanced Auto where someone was willing to hunt down the shocks we needed.  These shocks are for a 1963 Chevy S10.  They're a perfect match.

Double duty with the power tools cleaning up some of the old mounting hardware.
(Thanks for grabbing the camera, Samuel.)

After working all week to prep the trailer for mounting the new axle we weren't able to mount it.  Saturday (with all of our ducks in a row) we pulled out the mounting hardware and it was only 1 3/4".  We needed 2".  Crap.  Brian already talked to Dexter today.  They're mailing the correct hardware.
(I guess we'll have to wait on the mail after all.)

Oh well.  There's PLENTY of other stuff to do.

When we drilled out the windows and drip caps *someone* stopped drilling as soon as the rivet head came off.  (I won't mention any names... but if you look back you can see who was "on the inside" and who was "on the outside" when we drilled out the windows.)

The "rivet remnants" had to be drilled out.  (Yes, around all eight windows and the door.)  The hardest part about drilling out rivets was keeping the drill from slipping.  When the drill slips, it makes scratches on the skin.  (It will be hard work to polish out the scratches.)

We installed about 3/4 of the elevator bolts.  (Still have a little work to do on the C-channel at the front of the trailer before we can install the elevator bolts up there.)

I started polishing around the windows and couldn't resist working on a little section of the front panel .  It's shiny enough to see a reflection... but not shiny enough (YET!) that you can see how black my face is from the polish.