Rebirth Update #7...

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This is a short update to showcase a long awaited addition which went live yesterday...As long-time followers of this series know, I was reminded of many things I liked and missed about my old 1973 Chevy gunshow hauler when I began the current project on this truck...One of those missed items was the running boards on that older truck...They were the plain aluminum cab-length stepboards seldom seen on today's trucks...In current times fashion seems to dictate pretty nerf bars, or integrated sidesteps, with some even automatically raising and lowering for entry and egress...Without taking away from those designs, they just didn't suit my own tastes or needs...I wanted the plain running boards which I liked on the older gunshow vehicle...

My beloved previous truck, a quadcab dually, had wheel-to-wheel Tough Country tubular boards with expanded metal inserts which I really enjoyed...However these were unavailable even by special order for my current truck, and a diligent search through internet sources turned up nothing which suited my needs until I looked at the website maintained by accessory manufacturer Owens Products...This is an established older company with a diverse product line, but still listed the exact running board style I remembered from my long gone 1973 Chevy, and they still listed a part number for my particular truck...However it was out of stock, and a search of their many vendors turned up no matches...

It was listed on the website as available for order in either polished aluminum diamond plate, or black extruded aluminum with grit tape on the step surfaces...I did not want the polished finish on this truck, although I preferred the diamond plate design, so I opted to order the extruded option, and I was promised delivery in about six weeks...A young lady named Jenny handled my order from start to finish, and is to be commended for her patience and professionalism with this finicky and demanding customer...At the end of six weeks I inquired about my order, and was told they were waiting on the raw material from their supplier; she assured me of production in another four weeks...After that time passed another conversation with her brought her agreement that they really need a new supplier, and she said an option would be to change the order to polished aluminum which was already in stock...

This would entail my getting the product refinished to black myself, but given the only option of waiting even longer, I gave the go ahead to change the order...She even issued a partial refund to reflect the lower price of the material...She added a note to my order asking the production crew to rush my order since I had been waiting so long, and to my surprise it arrived at my door safely and ahead of the new promised shipping date...My thanks go again to Jenny for handling a difficult situation, and at the same time retaining a customer...This left the task of refinishing the boards to black, and since I really like the bedliner that was applied earlier to my flatbed by VIP Tinters, I took the unopened box of parts to Jason and Allan, asked to have them refinished and installed...As promised the entire job was done on time while I waited, and as a bonus it was noticed that tiny bubbles, unnoticed by me, had developed in my previously tinted windows...Both windows were retinted on the spot under warranty...VIP Tinters is entrenched on the Truckman Highly Recommended List...

As always, new photos of the additions will be found at the bottom of the accompanying photo essay here...

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